Singer of the Heart
by AlwaysElisabethian
Summary: "A special kind of human, a Singer, is born to one out of every three vampires, and any vampire who is bestowed with one has a sealed fate." Damon had heard the story for years, had seen the power of the Singer's call first hand. He never wanted any part of it, until the day his own singer is born. But Elena is so much more. He could never know this human would change everything.
1. Prologue

**So, here it is, finally. This is the story I've been talking about for so long, and it's finally here. First off, I am SO nervous about this. Just ask _Foreverfirstloves. _I tell you, if she hadn't been here for me, I probably wouldn't have put this up. So, this time, it's really important to me that you leave a review. I _beg _you! It would mean the world to me! _  
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**Now that we've got that out of the way, I have to say just one thing, before letting you read on. You _have _to remember that this is AU. It is _seriously _important. Just because it's a vampire diaries fic, doesn't mean the stories are the sames. So, don't go ahead and presume stuff from the beginning! ;)**

**Okay, I'll let you read! I am biting my nails (and I never bite my nails!), and waiting impatiently for your reviews! **

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**Prologue:**

_It is a law of nature that every vampire created has a singer. The vampire will know from the moment his or her singer is born, and will find them self compelled to go to their singer and protect them. _

_When a vampire's singer becomes the same age as the vampire was when he or she was turned, the vampire is given a choice. Either let the singer die, or turn them into a vampire._

_If the vampire chooses to turn the singer, it is stated by law, that the vampire also needs to turn another human, to prevent the extinction of the vampire race. _

I banged my shot glass down at the table, not caring at all if I was ruining anything. The girl next to me jumped up and down excitedly, squeaking something about winning. I really didn't care. What I did care about, though, was the way her breast were following her movements, jiggling up and down in front of me. Oh yeah, she was the flavor of tonight. This one was even legal!

I laughed at her happiness, as if I cared, making her believe I was actually a good guy. There really weren't enough bad girls in this world. Girls that didn't care about whether boys cared about them or not. I always needed to play the good guy, or compel them, to make them go out to the alley with me.

This one was no exception. But I had been working on her for an hour, and she seemed drunk enough for me to start taking her outside. Wonder if I was going to let this one live. Maybe. She seemed nice enough.

And sure enough, when I proposed we'd go outside, she followed me, giggling and holding onto my hand. I could feel her throbbing pulse in her thumb, as she rubbed it all over my hand, while whispering things she was able to do with her tongue. Oh well, it was going to be a fun night.

We reached the alley, her body now pressed to the side of mine, her lips forming a trail of sloppy kisses down my neck. I rolled my eyes, grabbing her chin harshly and made her focus on me.

"You are not going to make a sound."

I let my face change and reveled in the way my fangs shot through my gums, making me look exactly like that predator I was. I harshly moved her face to the side, revealing her white neck, so ready for me to plunge into. The girl didn't say anything at all, exactly as I had compelled her to, but she did try to escape. God, did this never change? Honestly, if you've just been told to not make a sound and you find yourself unable to do so, you should just give up. There's obviously nothing you can do about it.

But these girls never learned. It was the same shit every single time. If she would just relax, it wouldn't hurt that bad! It might even be comfortable for her. I could make it very comfortable, actually. But no, she just had to fight me, trying to get me away from her, as if I was some sort of sickness. Oh well, her loss.

Holding her back easily, I dove into her neck, not caring at all if I was creating a mess. I probably wouldn't let her survive, and I needed to make it seem like an animal attack. I could drop her body off on my way back to that shitty little town I should be able to call home.

Honestly, I probably shouldn't go back there. My broody baby brother would probably be waiting for me, with his singer. And he'd probably talk to me about how irresponsible I am, and how I should try changing, because it won't be long until my destined singer will come. Sometimes I think he's delusional.

I've known my brother for around 267 years. Yeah, that's right, I'm pretty old. I don't look a day over 24, though. That could have something to do with the fact that I'm a vampire, and haven't aged a day since 1744, the year I was turned. I know, vampires are mythical creatures and all that, but see, that's where you're wrong. We're pretty real, and we're in all parts of the world. You probably know a couple of vampires without actually being aware of it. We're pretty good at hiding.

I think I got a little bit off track there. My point is, that I've known my brother for 267 years, and he still has some kind of idea that there's something good in me, and the day my singer is born, I'm going to turn around.

Yeah, not gonna happen.

I've told him time on time that there's no singer out there for me. I've roamed around this earth for 274 years, 24 as human and 250 as a vampire. During those 250 years, you would think that this apparently destined singer would've appeared. But she hasn't. And she won't. Because I'm a damned soul, and I enjoy my bachelor life way too much to be bored with a silly human. Of course I'd never protect one of theirs.

No, there's not singer out there for me. And should there ever come some one, I won't go to them. Of course I won't, do you think I'm stupid? The vampire race is supreme, and we're doing just fine. I'm doing just fine, living life the way I am now. I have fun, I drink myself into a stupor, have a lot of great sex, and I'm draining blondes dry almost every night. Oh yes, I love my life.

Why would I be bothered by a small human?

As I told you, I think my stupid baby brother is delusional.

I came back to my senses as I felt the girl's heart stop. Oh well, what a shame... Not really. She wasn't intelligent or something like that. And why should I even care? She's just some human. She's not worth crying about.

I made sure not one single drop was wasted, before taking her over my shoulder, speeding off the crime scene and going to the woods, where no humans rarely come. I dumped the body on the ground, letting the forest's animals have it, before speeding back to the bar, getting into my Camaro. I loved that thing more than I'll ever love some person. Not even my brother is as important as my baby is.

I got in my car, turning it on and making my way back to the city I call home. Mystic Falls.

Mystic Falls is a pretty fucked up town, to be honest with you. Somehow it seems to attract supernatural stuff like a magnet, causing the human citizens to be in danger almost all the time. Not that I care. I just wish I could return to that city, without people telling me just how much of a douche bag I am – because let's face it. It's true, and I know it. And I _love _it. It's just me. That's who I am, and I am _so _not changing. Not for my stupid brother, or for anyone else.

I parked my baby in the garage, making sure everything was locked, before making my way into the big boarding house. Our nephew was actually living there, but thankfully, he magically disappeared every time I got into town. It wasn't news that I'd killed a few of the men in our family during the time, and he probably didn't want to be another one. And this guy was actually doing a decent job at keeping away, making sure he was with his girlfriend or something like that.

"Damon..."

God, I missed him having a heartbeat. That's right, my baby brother had a heartbeat, for seventeen years. And I'm not talking about the seventeen years he spent as a human. No. As soon as his precious singer had been born, his heart had started beating. I'd had so much fun with that. He couldn't sneak up on me and the pumping noise from his chest was a great symbol for the love he felt for that stupid girl.

But his heart wasn't beating anymore, ever since he'd chosen to turn that girl he was so obsessed with. That meant he was able to sneak up on me. Just great, another disappointed look from him. And if I knew him good enough, his singer would be coming down the stairs in a few minutes. He never left her out of his sight, even though she had turned. She weren't in any kind of danger anymore, and those two should be living life, instead of just staying in doors and being broody. As I told you, I think there's something wrong with my brother.

"Stefan..." I said in the same voice, trying to get the tormented look in my face as well. Mission failed. I couldn't keep it, but let the smirk return to my lips, as I poured another glass and made my way away from the drinks.

"What are you doing here?" Stefan asked, crossing his arms over his chest. Just great. He didn't expect me to return to Mystic Falls. Good to know that your brother doesn't want you to be home.

Technically home wasn't Mystic Falls. Our real home, the place we'd both been brought up, was in a small town in Italy. By the time both of us had turned, we'd known that we couldn't stay in Italy. Our douche bag father had made himself a big reputation there, and everyone pretty much knew who the Salvatore brothers were. That's why we got on the first ship to America, and we were instantly attracted to Mystic Falls, as so many other supernatural creatures. And that had been home ever since.

I'd never care to admit it out loud, but that little town was more of a home to me, than Italy had been. Don't get me wrong, I go back to Italy all the time. The girls down there are just a bit more willing. But Mystic Falls had been my home for the past 248 years, and that probably wasn't going to change.

"Oh, are you that sad to see me home, little brother?" I said in a mocking voice, throwing the alcohol down my throat. I needed that alcohol if I was going to survive being here with my apparently totally judging little brother, and that blonde bitch that was his singer. I'd never really liked the girl. Sure, I'd banged her once or twice, which had earned me a hell of a fight with Stefan, but her squeaky voice and her bubbly attitude were way too much to me. My little brother seemed to like her, though. Stupid idiot.

"Not sad, just... No, you know what, that was pretty accurate. I am pretty sad to see you're home. Because that usually means trouble and a lot of covering up for me and Caroline to do," Stefan said, stepping closer. I put my hand over my heart and pretended to be hurt.

"Auch. You're hurting my feelings, brother... Oh wait, that's right, I don't have any! Thank God for that. That's wasn't nice, though!" I said, flopping down in one of the couches, reaching out after the book on the table.

"Stop pretending, Damon. You have feelings, both of us know that. You just deny it. But as soon as your singer turns up, I bet your emotions will be back in place," Stefan said, sitting down in the couch opposite of me. I could hear Blondie's steps on the stairs, and groaned, knowing she would be down in a few seconds. Great, two people to torture me.

"Why don't you just stop believing a singer will ever turn up? Both of us know that's really not going to happen, and even if it did, I wouldn't go there. Why should I? I'm living the perfect life! I get to be drunk all the time, have sex and drain sorority girls. Why on earth should I give all that up, for a stupid human? You must think I'm crazy or something," I said, shaking my head. I looked at the book in my hand. Wuthering heights. Great. He was reading that one again.

"What's going on down here, Stefan?"  
Great, Barbie had arrived. Just great. She was wearing one of Stefan's shirts and nothing more than a pair of panties. Oh well, she did have a great body. I was so not complaining. Maybe she'd like to have some fun.

"Damon? What the hell are you doing here?"

Her eyes narrowed at me, as she crossed her arms over her chest, exactly like Stefan. Except she looked at lot more angry when she did that. And it pushed up her boobs. Again, I am so not complaining.

"Well, this is my home as much as it's Stefan's. I have every right to be here. Actually, my plan was to drink some more alcohol, go to bed and do that thing you do when you close your eyes and allow your body to rest. It's called sleep, ever heard of it?" I said in my usual sarcastic tone, emptying the glass and standing up from my place on the couch. Caroline sped to me, pressing me against the nearest wall with her hand against my throat. I raised one eyebrow and easily pushed her away, locking _my _hand over her throat.

Stefan let out a loud growl and launched at me, but I pushed him away easily. Stupid idiot didn't feed on anything else than animals, which was exactly the reason I was able to push him away with a flick of my wrist.

"Listen to me, Blondie, I have over a hundred years on you. Don't you ever begin to think you're stronger. Now, this is my home as well, and I'm going to be here for a while, whether you like it or not. So don't try any funny business."  
I let go of her throat and got up, looking over at Stefan. He was sitting a bit away, fire in his eyes, slightly bend knees. He was ready to go at me again, if I touched her. Idiot.

"Make her behave. I don't want to kill her. She seems to be able to at least make you somewhat near alive. I'll see you two tomorrow."  
With that comment I slowly made my way up the stairs, going to the northern wing, finding my room exactly as I'd left it. The books were still in place on their shelves, my bed was made with my silk sheets and my bathroom was clean as always. I smirked, grabbing a bottle of bourbon from my stash and started drinking, while shredding my clothes. The perfume of the girl I'd killed earlier was still hanging around me, and I hated that cheap stuff. She surely wouldn't be missed.

Not caring one small bit about nudity, I grabbed a towel and got into the shower, turning on the hot water and letting it glide down my body. It felt good, to wash my body after that night. That girl hadn't been my first one, and I had dried blood on my chest.

I'd brought a girl to my hotel room, before draining that girl. I should really stop making such a mess when I was fucking and draining, but... Well, where's the fun in that?

* * *

Stepping out of my bathroom, only clad in a towel, I dried off my hair, pulled off the towel and got under the sheets. I really needed sleep after that night. And just before I closed my eyes, I felt it. The lurch in my chest. Stunned, I waited, praying I had imagined it. That it wasn't real.

But then it happened again.

And again.

Please, God, no. I have never been a religious person, but at that moment, I was praying to every single God I knew of, that I had been wrong.

That one single thing I had spent two and a half centuries dreading, had finally happened. For the first time in 250 years, my heart was beating. And that could only mean one thing.

She had come.

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**So, there's the prologue. PLEASE leave a review, and tell me what you think. I really want to know your thoughts, and what you think will happen! I'll see you next time!**


	2. Chapter 1

**Oh my Lord, what's this?! AN UPDATE!? Yes, I decided to update, since I just finished writing chapter 6 - I'm a bit ahead of you guys! I am so thrilled over the amount of support I've recieved for this fic. Thank you guys, SO much! You have no idea what it means to me. 18 reviews for the prologue is more than I could've ever counted on, and I am so happy about it. **

**As always, this couldn't have been possible with my wonder, amazing and lovely beta, _Foreverfirstloves. _She has some pretty amazing stuff on her profile, so go check that out after you've read and reviewed this! ;) **

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**Chapter 1**

I groaned as sunlight hit my face and an annoying thumbing woke me up. Who the hell were playing so loud, I could actually _feel _the bass?! Whoever the person was, I was going to rip their fucking heads off. I didn't really care it was probably two or something like that. I needed my sleep, and no one was going to interrupt that, human or vampire.

Feeling my head throbbing, I put my hand to my forehead and rubbed it lightly. And then the memories from the night before started to come back to me. My heart. No, no, no it couldn't be happening!

But sure enough, my heart was beating. There was this annoying throbbing in my chest, and I couldn't stop it. How ironic was that? Just yesterday, I'd been thinking about the fact that I was never ever going to have a singer. And all of sudden, she was here. She was born, and I already knew the exact rhythm of her heartbeat. Because my own freaking heart had the same.

I pulled away the sheets, walking to my dresser to find a pair of jeans to put on. I had always been the kind of guy to go commando. When I had them on, I walked downstairs, feeling the annoying throbbing all the way in my head. God, could this become any worse? I'd barely had the heartbeat for 24 hours, and I was already sick and tired of it. And I needed to have this for another 24 years, before I could be at peace again! Couldn't she just speed up aging or something?

I made my way to the basement, and grabbed four blood-bags from the fridge. My brother never touched these, but Caroline did indeed. My baby brother is boring enough to stick with the animal diet. I guess you could say he's the complete opposite of a vegetarian.

I am not complaining about his diet, though. I mean, sure, he was fun when he was on human blood. He knew how to have fun, drinking, fucking and draining. But he also left behind a big mess. And that wasn't very fun. Plus, now that he's on animal blood, I am so much stronger than him. And not just a little. I'm very much stronger. Guess I am the older brother after all!

"Damon, how many times have I told you not to let humans go to the... Oh!"

I turned around and saw Caroline standing before me, looking at my chest. Not because I was half naked, no. She'd seen me naked before. Lot's of times. No, it was the throbbing she had to be able to hear from my chest. That was what she was gazing at. I drained the blood bag without looking at her, throwing it in a garbage can and opening another one. I was going to need a lot of blood.

"Your heart..." she whispered, holding her hand before her mouth. I rolled me eyes and walked past her, getting the hell out of the basement. A bit too close to her for my taste.

"It's beating, stop gazing like that. You're going to make Stefan believe you chose the wrong brother," I said, putting in as much sarcasm as possible. Noway I was letting her know anything about the pull I felt. I knew where the little girl was. I knew her exact location, and I wanted to go there. But noway I was going to do that. I was going to go up and pack my stuff and get the hell out of here. Actually, I was going to get the hell out of the country.

"STEFAN! Oh my God, Stefan, Damon actually has a heart!" Caroline started running up the stairs, while yelling to her boyfriend. God, could those two be any worse?

I had just poured a big amount of blood into my bourbon as Stefan made his way downstairs, wearing his usual hero outfit, jeans and a tight fitting tanktop. He just needed a skirt, and he'd be more girly than Caroline.

Stefan stared at me for a minute, before focusing on my chest, and I knew the sound of my heartbeat was clear to him. And he'd comment something about me needing to go and see her in three, two...

"You should go and see her, Damon," Stefan said, his face very serious. What did I tell you?

I raised my eyebrow at him and emptied the glass, going over a mental list of stuff I needed to bring with me. How much clothes did I need? And where would I go? Maybe back to Italy. Or Germany maybe... There were always a lot of alcohol and trouble over there.

"I am not going to see her, Stefan. Stop trying to be the saving hero. I'm going away, actually. I knew you wouldn't be too keen on having me in the house, so I've decided that I need to travel. I'll be in Italy if you need me... Or maybe Russia... France perhaps?" I flashed them my usual smirk, before heading upstairs and into my room. I didn't miss Stefan's comment to Caroline.

"This is either going to be the best thing that's happened to him or the worst..." he sighed. I rolled my eyes. Baby bro was worried about me. Well, he got something right This was officially the worst thing that had ever happened to me. And that included the times I'd tried to have my mind pierced with more than million burning needles by a witch. Stupid bitches.

Now I had this annoying thumping in my chest, reminding me that my whole existence suddenly had a meaning, and that I shouldn't be on the run from Mystic Falls. I should probably be vampire speeding to the local hospital, right into the nursery and see her. But I wasn't going to do that. I could feel the pull, no doubt about that. But no way I was actually going to submit to it. Stefan may have been week, but I wasn't going to be. This baby was going to be fine without me, and in 24 years, I'd be free of that annoying beating in my chest.

I threw a couple of shirts and jeans into a bag, wondering what else I could possibly need. Alcohol, maybe? A couple of books? Blood, definitely.

* * *

Okay, I admit it, I might have dragged out my packing a bit... It might have been around eight o'clock, when I left, and I maybe wasn't going to drive out of the city...

I felt like the biggest pussy in centuries. My own freaking brother and his singer had actually talked me into going to see her. Just once. And here I was, on my way, all alone, to Mystic Falls hospital, to look at the tiny human I was meant to protect for all of her life.

Yeah, right, that's not going to happen.

I was going to go, just to prove Stefan wrong. As soon as I arrived, I would take one look at all the babies, not even knowing which one was my singer, and then I would leave again. Then I would go out and drink my bourbon, find some girl and have a little drink. In the morning I would return home, my confident smirk on my lips, as I told him about the evening and next thing would be for me to leave the country.

If only that had been what happened.

I felt totally ridiculous, as I sat in my car, draining at least four blood-bags. I didn't need that much. No where near that amount, actually. But I couldn't have a child's life in my hands. I couldn't lose control in there and drain a baby. I wouldn't let my self. I had to take the right precautions. Plus the whole drinking thing was another thing delaying me in going in there, another thing that kept me from submitting to the urge I had to vampire speed up the stairs to see the baby that was waiting for me.

Of course she wasn't waiting for me! She was a child, and a stupid human as well. She wouldn't know who I was. She would know nothing. Actually, she would probably be asleep, not even noticing my presence in the room. Hopefully she would just be sleeping.

I took in a deep breath before leaving my car, slowly walking inside, following the pulling from my chest. Her heartbeat. I could hear her heartbeat, in perfect synchronization to my own. Our hearts were beating together. I compelled the nurse at the disk to let me through, and went on, trying to keep my steps at human speed. My body wanted to use my vampire speed to get to her. It wanted me to hurry.

Why? She wasn't in danger. She couldn't already be, plus her heart was beating slowly and securely. She was sleeping. I could recognise the sound of a sleeping human heart any day. And she was asleep.

I turned around the corner, and could see the big glass window that, in a few seconds, would allow me to look at my singer. This was actually going to happen. I was actually going to meet my singer. She was in there.

I couldn't help it. I vamp sped the rest of the way, and as soon as I laid eyes on the babies, I could see her. There she was. Wrapped up in blankets, sucking on her thumb, safely asleep. I put my hands on the glass, wanting to be closer. I wanted to be able to touch her. That little fragile human in there, changed everything going on in my mind. Of course I was going to protect her. Of course I was going to she was special, and I needed her. How could I not protect someone as innocent as her?

"Which one is yours?" I was almost gasping at the female nurse next to me. It had been years, centuries since a woman had been able to sneak up on me. I'd been way too caught up with the girl that was in there. What the hell was wrong with me? Oh, no time to think about that.

"Her," I said, pointing towards the small girl. The nurse smiled at me. She had to be in her fifties or sixties, dark skin and friendly eyes. I had no intentions of drinking from her, at all. I forced her eyes on me, feeling the power of compulsion race through me.

"Let me into the room, and tell me everything about her and her parents," I said. Her eyes went dazed as she nodded lightly and found her keys. She opened the door, closed to behind us and walked to the crib that held the little girl.

"Her name is Elena Gilbert. She was born on July 12th 1994 and had trouble breathing at first. We got that under control, and she's acting exactly like a girl her age should. Her parents are called Miranda and Grayson Gilbert. Grayson is a doctor here and him and his wife has wanted children for a long time. It was a miracle when Miranda got pregnant."

The nurse was still under my power. Oh well, being a vampire definitely had it's perks.

"You are going to make sure she get's the best treatment possible. I am going to pay for any extra stuff she might need. Give her everything she needs. She is the most important baby here," I said, not even recognising my voice as I said the words. I was paying for her hospital bills. I was seriously going all the way for this tiny little human. But it suddenly didn't seem to important anymore. I just wanted to protect her. I wanted this little girl to have everything she'd ever dreamed of. I wanted her to live her life fully, without worrying about a single thing.

"Leave and forget about this."  
The nurse left, leaving me alone with her.

Elena.

I loved that name. It fit her so perfectly. I recognised the name, actually. It was Latin. Meant light. And boy, did that fit her. She was my light. I would never admit it to anyone, but this little girl, this Elena, was my number one priority. All of my previous thinking, about just let her living her life, went out the window, the moment I laid my eyes on her. How could I not protect her? How would I ever be able to let her die?  
Simple. I wouldn't.

I slowly raised my hand, caressing her small cheek very carefully. In the exact moment our skin touched, her eyes shut wide open, and she cocked her head, looking at me with a curious expression. I was stunned to see her eyes. Big, brown, beautiful doe eyes were looking at me. It wasn't right for a baby her age to be able to move her head like that, but she did. And that intense gaze she had.

One of her tiny hands came to my finger, grabbing it in a tight grip and pulling me closer. With a small unconscious smile, I let her pull my finger to her mouth and let her take it in. Her teethless gums locked around my finger, before she opened her mouth again and did something I hadn't expected. She giggled. How was that even possible? She was less than 24 hours old, and she was giggling. Was babies supposed to giggle?

To be honest, I couldn't really bring my self to care. She was obviously good. She was happy. And she was healthy. That was all that mattered to me.

"Elena Gilbert..." I let the name fall off my tongue, already liking the way it sort of just fit in my mouth. She cocked her head once again and let out a little tingling laugh. I felt my heart melt at that sound. My _beating _heart. I could already tell she was special. Normal children wouldn't laugh until they were at least two months old. But here she was, laughing at me, her eyes shining with happiness. How could someone that small be able to feel that?

"You can hold her if you want, you know."  
The nurse had returned. I looked at her with big eyes. Normally I would have laughed and told her hundreds of reasons why I didn't want to care for a small child. But this was Elena. She was my singer. The nurse lifted her carefully and showed me how to hold my arms.

And then I was holding her. She weighed absolutely nothing. Her fragile little body was laying in my arms, not a single sign of the smile that had been there a few seconds ago. She looked like an entirely normal baby, except for her eyes. They were locked on mine, and they were shining with happiness and affection.

The nurse handed me a bottle filled with milk, a smile upon her lips. I took it, never letting go of Elena, and looked confused between the two.

"Just hold it to her mouth. She'll do the rest herself," the nurse said, smiling softly at me. I cradled Elena carefully, as I put the bottle to her mouth, not even blinking, afraid to miss something important. Her tiny mouth took the tip of the bottle into her mouth, and she suckled at it with eagerness, almost choking on the milk. I lowered the bottle a small bit, still bouncing her lightly while keeping her as close to my body as possible, without breaking her fragile bones.

* * *

It took me almost two hours to let go of Elena again. But as soon as she was gone from my viewpoint, I returned to my old habits. What the fuck had I just been doing?! I had been doing exactly what I didn't want to do! I'd been in there, holding her, and I'd been completely lost in her eyes.

I needed to get out, to get a drink, and to find someone to fuck. This wasn't me, for fuck's sake! I didn't even want a singer. I didn't need a singer! I wasn't my freaking brother! I was close to almost slamming my door when I got into my car. What the hell was happening to me? I almost hurt my baby!

I pulled out from the hospital parking lot and hurried towards my favorite bar in Richmond. I needed a drink, desperately. Hopefully that drink would come from someone blonde and willing. Hell, she didn't even have to be willing. Maybe I'd just attack the first woman I saw, hopefully drain her dry. Because then I'd have some sort of control over my body. I would have control over that woman's life. And I would kill her, knowing that I was the one to decide her fate.

No, tonight, I was going to be in my predator mode. Which meant I was going to guy in and buy a drink, and find a quiet street, before attacking someone. And I was going to enjoy their screams. Tonight I wasn't using compulsion or any of my other tricks. I was being what I really am – a predator.

I made my way to the bar, ignoring all the looks the woman in the bar was giving me. I was well aware of my good looking body. I didn't need a silly human to point it out for me. And normally, I would probably use my good looks to make a woman come to the street with me, compelling her to keep quiet, take some blood and compel her to forget everything about the small encounter.

Tonight was different. I couldn't possibly care less about their looks and their attempts to make me look down their cleavage. This bar didn't exactly attract hot females – more like woman in their 40's, putting on way too much make-up, to try and get something from a guy way out of their league. Sad little humans. They had so few years to live in, and most of them wasted the time completely. The woman who was on her way to sit down next to me, was the perfect example of just how much those silly little creatures wasted their life time. I'll even prove it to you, as soon as she sits down!

"Fancy a drink, handsome?"

See my point? A woman, clearly looking at least twenty years older than me, coming up to me and asking me if I want a drink. If that isn't a sad life, I don't know what is.

"Already have one," I said, lifting my glass of bourbon to show her and then downed it. Hopefully she would get the message. I really didn't have time to deal with annoying humans.

"Well, now you haven't, and I really wouldn't mind giving you what you want?" Her eyes moved up and down my body, a confident smirk placed on her cracked lips. God, she looked disgusting. And was that supposed to be a pick up line? God, why did I even bother with this species?  
"You feel like going home, right now," I said, compelling the woman. Her eyes went dazed for a minute, before she stood up and grabbed her purse.

"I think I'm going home. Here's my number, if you feel like it," she said, leaving her number on the bar before walking out. Maybe I should follow her. I could chase her into some quiet alley and drain her. I would probably do every single good looking guy on earth a favor.

I ordered another bourbon from the bartender, figuring I might as well give the woman a little head start. There was something thrilling about the chase. Not that it would be very hard to find her. The amount of perfume did help a lot.

I missed the late 1700's more and more each decade.

Don't get me wrong, I love the whole tight fitting clothes thing. I love it, when sexy women are the ones wearing it. But when a woman, that clearly should be dead from obesity, is wearing clothes showing of all the curves she shouldn't have, I found my self missing the dresses and corsets from back then. And there had always been some kind of excitement about ripping the dress off a woman, seeing her curves for the first time.

But I did love the young, sexy women, who wore skintight clothes.

After emptying my glass, I got up from my uncomfortable seat and put on my leather jacket. Time to start the chase.

As soon as I stepped outside, I could smell the trail of her perfume. Hopefully she hadn't used too much on her neck. Oh well, if she had, I would find another artery to drain. No problem.

I strolled down the streets, following the trail, while using only a little bit of my vampire speed. No need to get this over with fast. I would take my time, tracking her down and killing her. This was what I did. This was who I was. A predator. Not a freaking weak emotional human.

At the memory of the feelings I'd experienced at the hospital, I let out a growl, feeling my face change. Screw patience.

I pulled the woman inside a dark alley and immediately plunged my fangs into her neck. She screamed, her body fighting my attack. I reveled in it. And as her body grew limp in my arms and her screams died with her, I laughed, enjoying the fact that I had taken back the power over my body. My heart may be beating, but I wasn't defeated yet. Why return to having emotions, when it was so much more fun without them?

* * *

**So, there was chapter 1! I am so hoping to recieve as many reviews as I did for the prologue, and I really really hope you'll keep on telling me what you think. I am responding to every single one, except for the guest ones. So, leave a review, PLEASE! :D I will see you next time I update! **

**For those of you following Hotel California, I have NOT left the story! I just have hard time writing the next chapter, but I AM working on the case, and it WILL be updated. Thank you so much for your patience! **


	3. Chapter 2

**So, here's chapter 2! Thank you for all the reviews. You've left me speechless! I hope you like this!**

* * *

**Chapter 2**

I opened the door to the boarding house, not caring at all that my brother and his singer was going to get shocked by the amount of blood on my shirt. Good thing I'm an 'all black' guy. Blood was never that visible on black clothes, comparing it to other colors. I was exhausted, after doing my packing again and again, and finally going to see that little girl. No matter what I did, I wasn't able to get her off my mind. Oh well, I would forget her eventually. And that annoying thumping in my chest would stop. I would go back to normal, living life as if nothing had happened.

"Damon? Is that you?"  
Stefan came walking down the stairs, this time not wearing a shirt, only his jeans. Suddenly I was glad I didn't come home five minutes earlier. Listening to him and Blondie screw each other's brains out wasn't exactly my kind of entertainment. I didn't need to be reminded that I hadn't had sex tonight, and the sun was coming up. I just wanted to go to my shower, get that nasty perfume off my clothes and my skin, and go to bed.

I did already know, however, that I wouldn't be getting much sleep, thanks to the loud noise coming from my chest. God, was I really going to go with that for the next 24 years?

"No, little brother, it's a vampire hunter, coming to tell you to start living as a real vampire instead of a freaking vegetarian."  
Okay, so I might not have been in the best of moods. But to be fair, Stefan has always been the one to ask the most stupid questions. Like that one. Why shouldn't it be me? Who the fuck else would go to the old boarding house, when obviously, someone was living there? Sometimes I wondered if I was the one getting every single functional brain cell from our parents. It sure did seem like it most of the time.

"Did you go and- oh my God, did you kill her?!"

Stefan's eyes went wide as they focused on my blood soaked shirt. I flashed him a smirk and started unbuttoning my shirt.

"No, stupid. Can't you hear my heart? I think this one was called... I don't even know her name. But she definitely deserved to die. And I needed a meal, so convenient!" I said, loosing the shirt and making my way to the stairs, where Stefan had frozen into place, looking at the shirt. God, him and his human blood. He'd been off human blood for 82 years, but he still seemed like the same recovering addict he'd been back then. At least I hadn't been around when he'd started drinking that awful shit. He'd laid off the human blood for Caroline's sake. As soon as his heart had started, he'd gotten off it, accepting the boring role of being a protector of a human.

Stupid idiot.

"Don't even think about it. You are not going anywhere near this or any human blood. Forget it," I said, starting to walk up the stairs to get rid of the shirt. No matter how much I hated Stefan's vegetarian diet, I knew it was better that he stayed on that, rather than becoming 'The Ripper' again. I really didn't want to start cleaning up after his mess again.

"Did you go and see her?" I heard his question from the parlor, even though it was spoken with normal volume. I was a vampire for God's sake, I would've heard if he whispered it.

"So not any of your business," I said, closing the door to my room, shutting him and the rest of the world out. I really didn't want to deal with all this singer piss right now. I just wanted to go and enjoy a warm shower, getting that bitch's perfume of my freaking skin.

But right as I stepped under the sprays of the shower, I felt it. My heart rate sped up, only a little bit. Elena was awake. She wasn't sleeping anymore. And immediately I caught my self thinking about her. I wondered what she was doing. Probably resting in her parent's arms, pretending to be a completely ordinary little baby. If only they knew.

They would probably never have any idea, just how special that little girl was. She probably didn't laugh and giggle when she was around them. Human babies didn't start showing emotions like that, when they were only 30 hours old. This girl was something special, and she was mine to protect.

God, I had to stop thinking about her! She was ruining my life, taking away my sleep with that annoying heart beat. She was a human, for Christ sake! Nothing more than that!

I groaned and leaned my head back, letting the water roll down my body. One in freaking three vampires got a singer, and I had to be one of them? _Me _of all people? I had to be the most unfitting person to take care of a silly little human. I was supposed to protect that little girl.

I let my mind go back to when I visited her in the hospital. What the hell had happened? As soon as I had seen her, it was like all of my troubles had disappeared. She had been the only thing that mattered. How was that even possible? A human, that mattered to me? Not in this life time!

But if I only felt like that when I was with her, my solution was easy enough. I just had to stay away from her, and let her live her life.

The picture of her small hands around my finger and the beautiful sound from her laugh made it's way into my mind. How would I be able to _not _protect that little human? How could I leave her alone?

I seriously needed a drink.

* * *

It was around eight PM, when I was starting to get frustrated. I had been drinking ever since I got out of the shower, and I was above the line of wasted. And that infamous thing in my chest, wouldn't stop beating! I just wanted it to freaking _stop!_

That little girl deserved someone good. Someone like my saint like brother. Not someone like me. I was way too sinister for her. I killed people, for Christ's sake! I would have to stop that, to be good. I would have to start compelling my victims, and let them go. I would have to stop drinking. And I would have to follow her everywhere, sitting in the shadows and watching her grow up.

I could never be that good person for her! Of course I couldn't!

Making a quick decision, I threw my glass to the fireplace and pushed my hand into my own chest. It hurt like hell, yes. But with my hand around my heart, I might be able to stop it! I just wanted it to be quiet. Just for a minute.

Of course it didn't help at all. Actually, it did the complete opposite. The annoying thumping sped up. Elena was either awake again or getting worked up. Could she be afraid?

"Damon- Wow, what the hell are you doing?"

Stefan stopped dead in his tracks as he saw me sitting on the couch, my hand plunged into my chest, grabbing heart painfully. I probably should put on the sarcastic mask, but I was way too drunk to care.

"It. Won't. Stop!" I said, my teeth clenched from the pain of holding my own heart in my hand. I wasn't new to the pain of having someone's hand in my chest, but having to actually grab my heart my self, was tough.

"And it probably won't either, if you rip it out. Actually, you'll probably just die and probably hurt your singer in the process. You're connected. You can't know if she can feel this, and is in pain, just like you. Just let it go, Damon..."

He moved closer to me, small careful steps, his eyes never leaving my body. He was right. He was fucking right. I let go and pulled out my hand, looking at the blood that drenched my hand. I'd held Elena in those hands just 24 hours ago. That hand that was now covered in blood, and that wasn't unusual for me. I couldn't be what I needed to be.

"I can't do this, Stefan. I have no idea what I'm doing. This isn't me. This singer shit. It's you... I'm the bad guy, remember? I kill people, I love being a vampire. I love being a predator. But this little human... How am I supposed to protect her? She deserves better. She deserves a vampire that'll actually be there, will actually protect her..."

I was a whimp, a pussy, but the alcohol did that I really didn't care at all. Stefan was here, and my statement had been true. Stefan had been great as soon as his heart had started beating. He'd changed his whole life for Caroline, going off human blood and becoming the hero he was today. I wouldn't be able to do that for Elena. I wanted to, God, I wanted to. But I couldn't.

"You went to see her, didn't you?" Stefan asked, as he sat down next to me, looking at me. I nodded and cleaned my hand in my ruined shirt. Why had I even put on a shirt? I wasn't going to leave the house anyway.

"And did you kill her?" he asked. My head immediately snapped up, looking at him with narrowed eyes. How could he think that I would ever harm her? How could he think that I would be able to kill her?

"Did you feel like drinking from her?"

I felt disgusted just by the thought. Drinking from Elena. Taking something against her will, from someone that small, that pure. No. I would never drink from her.

"Of course I didn't feel like drinking from her! I could never harm her, Stefan, _never!_" I felt like holding him by his throat, just for mentioning that. I would never ever do something like that to her. Of course I wouldn't.

"You held her, didn't you? And did you break any of her bones?" Stefan kept going, not caring about my answer. I let out a growl and pinned him to the sofa by his throat, by blood covered right hand tightening it's grip. Even after ripping a hole in my chest, I was stronger than him.

"Exactly..." I loosened my grip and pulled away from him again. What if anything like that happened with Elena? What if I lost control, being with her? She was nothing but a small, fragile human. I could break one of her bones with one finger. A single time of losing control, could cause her death.

"You don't have to know what to do. It'll come to you. You just know. Your instincts will be there to catch you. Just accept it, Damon. You have a singer. And you're ready for it. It'll come to you."

I shook my head at Stefan's words, and buried my face in my hands. It wouldn't just come to be. I'd been there, I'd held her and I'd seen her giggle at me. I hadn't hurt her. But I would. I was so strong, comparing to her weak body. I could lose control, so easy.

"I'm not, Stefan. I'm not like you. I'm not the hero type. I can't just change my entire life for this girl. And she deserves someone who can. I'm the bad guy! I kill, I feed, I screw around, I drink myself into a stupor. I can't be the person she needs. I can't be the protector she needs! God damn it, Stefan, I'm not good enough."

I walked to the bar, pouring my self another glass of bourbon. I didn't want this drunken haze to go away. I wanted it to stay. Maybe then I would be able to ignore my beating heart. It had slowed down again. Elena was asleep.

"It'll come, Damon. Go up, shower and get some rest. And then you can go see her in the morning or something like that. You need to visit her. You need to see her," Stefan said, standing up from the couch. I raised an eyebrow at him and threw the liquid down my throat. It burnt all the way down, and I liked it. It was a feeling I knew, a feeling I was used to. The alcohol warming it's way all down my throat, making my senses blur.

Stefan took away the glass and looked at me with a raised eyebrow. I knew there was no way around. I sighed and walked towards the stairs, ready to go up and do exactly as he told me. He was, after all, the one with the experience about singers.

* * *

When I woke up, it was almost 3 PM and the afternoon sun was shining brightly through my window. If I had been a human, my head would've killed me, but lucky for me, vampires don't get hangovers. That didn't change the fact that the sun was annoying, though.

As soon as my eyes had adjusted to the light in my room, I let my focus go to my chest. My heart was beating steadily, telling me Elena was still sleeping. Didn't that girl do anything besides sleeping?

As I was laying in my bed, I let my mind wander on the night before. The talk with Stefan had been pretty unusual for our relationship. Ever since the catastrophe that happened when we turned, we hadn't really been close, and in the beginning I'd really missed my little brother. But then I'd found out the thing that had made me go through those years. Vampires are able to turn their emotions off. And I loved being without emotions. But Elena brought them back, and Stefan had managed to as well yesterday. I was getting way too close to turning them on again, and I wasn't ready for that yet. I loved being without emotions. That was what made me able to kill people without feeling any kind of remorse. That, and the fact that I hated those silly humans.

I sighed and got off the bed, throwing on some random clothes. Stefan was right. I needed to see her again, no matter how much I wanted to stay away. I had to say goodbye to her before I left the country. I couldn't stay here and risk her life by being in it. She would be fine. I would protect her by leaving. It would work out.

I pulled out a duffel bag from a closet, starting to pack clothes. I would resume the plan I'd left two days ago. I was going to fly to Italy and spend some time there. It was, after all, my home country. Maybe I would go back and visit my mother's grave. I hadn't visited in almost 40 years. It was time to go back.

Okay, so maybe my emotions wasn't off all the time. I allowed them to come back once in a while – but only when I could control it. I couldn't with Elena. For God's sake, a small human baby had made me do stuff I would never ever do normally.

Which is why I couldn't trust myself with being around her. I could lose control at any moment. I could have her by her throat if she ever decided to go against me, or say something I didn't like, when she was bigger. I could kill her so easily, and I couldn't let my self do that. I couldn't live with my self, if I ever hurt her.

Taking a break from my packing, I went downstairs to get a blood-bag and a glass of bourbon. I needed to be sure I wasn't going to just attack her, when I got there. It was possibly the last time I ever got to see her and I wanted to be able to say a proper goodbye to her. She was, after all, pretty special.

As soon as I stepped inside, Caroline was sitting in the parlor, doing some work stuff. Yes, Caroline, a vampire, almost 83 years old, had a job. I'd always seen it as pretty stupid. For God's sake, we were vampires! We didn't need jobs! We stole from our victims and had no problem getting money. If it was a trouble, we compelled the way out of it. Why spend time on working?  
Apparently Caroline thought it was a nice thing to keep her humanity intact. I had to scoff. Humanity? Who the hell needed their humanity!? But no, Caroline wanted to be like Stefan, and went on, trying to be as human as possible.

Hence the reason she was working as an event planner. Stefan told me she was great at it, but I really couldn't care less. It was a stupid job, a stupid idea, and I didn't even want to know what she did.

I was, however, pretty interested in what it was like, being a singer. And she might be the perfect person to ask. Maybe I could try convincing her I was trying to get my emotions back, to be the person Elena deserved. That would be a lie. I don't let my emotions stay permanently. Never.

"Did you go to see her?" Caroline asked, as I went to the bourbon and poured my self a glass. I turned around and raised an eyebrow at her. She hadn't even looked up from her work. She knew how to use _some _of her vampire perks, at least.

"Yeah... I did," I said, not seeing the point of lying. Stefan had probably already told her. She was probably just trying to be polite as always, trying to cover up just how nosy she was. Even before turning, Caroline had known everything about everyone and what was going on in her neighborhood.

"Let me guess, she woke up, touched you and seemed a bit too happy for a newborn?"

I almost choked on my bourbon. How the hell did she know that? She finally looked up from her work and smiled at me, knowingly. That had to mean that something similar had happened to Caroline. What had happened with Elena wasn't unusual for a singer.

"Stefan told me about the first time I met him. Actually, he just kind of told me the full story, after he told me what I was and what he was. She'll do unusual stuff when you're around her. Don't be surprised if she starts saying your name in a month or two. And she'll probably always be happy and safe when you're around. That will falter when she get's older. She'll always feel safe when you're there, but not as much as when she's still just a baby."

I had no idea how to react to that one. Elena wouldn't be saying my name in a couple of months, because I wouldn't be there. I would be in Italy, my emotions off, draining girls and having fun. I needed to get away. I needed a sea between us, because then I wouldn't come running back. I wasn't going to.

"I'm going to leave the country. I, um... Say bye to Stefan from me."

I used my vampire speed to get to my room, gathering my duffel bags, a couple of blood-bags, and then got down to my car. Stefan was leaning on his own car, looking at me with his arms crossed over his chest.

"You can't fight it, you know." He looked at me with a raised eyebrow. Great, baby bro had strapped on the hero hair, trying to save me from being a big badass vampire. Well, guess what, too late.

"Don't try to save me, Stefan. I'm going out of the country, and I'm not returning within 50 years. You and Caroline have a good time here until then."

I threw my duffel bags in the back of my car and got in with a blood-bag in the hand. He didn't need to know that the airport wasn't my first stop. He just sighed and shook his head, returning to the house. I pulled out, draining the bag while turning on the radio. I was going to see her again.

* * *

My timing was totally perfect. By the time I had reached the hospital and compelled the receptionist, Elena's parents had gone to sleep, leaving Elena in one of those rooms with other babies. I quickly made my way up there, finding the same nurse patrolling the hallways. She smiled at me, and once again asked me which one was mine. This time I didn't have time to talk to her. I just compelled her to let me in and give me a bottle with milk.

When I was standing next to Elena's crib, I looked down at her with a faint smile on my lips. Her heart was beating slowly, indicating she was sleeping. She looked so peaceful, laying there, wrapped in a pink blanket. Her name was printed on her tiny beanie and her face looked relaxed.

This time I didn't hesitate to carefully pick her up and place her in my arms. I know I shouldn't hold her. I could break her. But I just couldn't stay away from her.

Her small eyes opened as soon as I touched her, and as they slowly focused on me, a smile spread across her lips and her hand fought to get out of the blanket. I carefully unwrapped it and her hand gripped my finger again. A full-blown smile made it's way onto my lips, as I cradled her, making sure she was comfortable.

"Hello, little Elena." I whispered, careful not to wake any of the others babies. A small giggle escaped her lips when I said her name, and her grip around my finger tightened.

"You're very special, do you know that?" I suddenly found my self at loss for words. How the hell did I tell her that I was going to leave her? And how would I even be able to go through with it? How would I be able to leave this tiny girl? I wanted to stay here. I wanted to watch her grow up, and protect her from any kind of heartbreak. I wanted to protect her when she was old enough to go out, being at the bars she went to, and making sure no one touched her.

I wanted to be there to see her do all the cliche stuff. I just wanted to be there.

"And I am going to be protecting you. For all of your life. You're probably never going to see me, but I'll be there. I will make sure you live the most amazing life ever. You have something good to look forward to."  
I didn't even think, as the words left my mouth. I just knew they were true. Of course I couldn't leave her! I was made for her. She was made for me. How could I leave her? I needed to protect her. I needed to be there.

"And you are probably starving. Which is why I am going to feed you."

The nurse handed me the bottle, and I felt our hearts speed up in synchronization. I chuckled lightly and held it to her mouth. She let go of my finger and reached for the bottle. I just held it there, letting her take what she wanted to. I was fucked, I was whipped, and I didn't care.

* * *

Four hours later, I was walking through the parlor, my duffel bag on my back. Stefan was sitting on the couch, Caroline snuggled into his body, sleeping. He smirked at me, seeming way too smug about the fact that I was back home.

"Shut it."

* * *

**So, I really really hope you like it! I have to mention that if you have ANY questions about the whole singer thing or stuff like that - I'll answer, unless it'll spoil something for later! **

**So, leave a review, PLEASE and I'll see you the next time!**


	4. Chapter 3

**So, here's chapter 3. I have to mention, that there won't be an update next weekend, because I am traveling to LONDON tomorrow! I am bringing my computer for writing, but I'm not sure my hotel will have wi-fi - so you have to wait until the week after for an update. Sorry folks! **

**Please notice the time gaps - there'll be a few of those over the next chapters, so keep an eye out for them!**

* * *

**Chapter 3**

_-4 years later_

As I let my Camaro glide down through the streets of Mystic Falls, I couldn't help but look around. I knew what Elena's parents looked like, and they probably wouldn't have changed that much, during the 3½ years I had spent in Italy. It had taken me six months to get myself together to leave Elena. And I had. My emotions had been off, while I had been in Italy, except for one moment, where I had gone back to my mother's grave.

Every time I went to my mother's grave, I forced myself to feel. Because I couldn't even look at her name, without feeling just how much I missed her. Even after almost 263 years, I still missed her. And I probably always would. I only had 13 years with my mom. Not nearly enough. After her death, everything had been hell on earth, and I did everything I could to not think of that time. Instead, I felt much better, thinking about how I decapitated my father only a few years after turning into one of the monsters he so passionately hated. Many people would've felt bad about killing their father, but in my case, even with my emotions on, I didn't regret it one bit. He had it coming, and it was exactly what he deserved.

Stefan hadn't even mourned over his death. He had been busy draining girls in France. His humanity switch was almost permanently on 'off' and he had embraced his 'Ripper' character fully. He was fun, but he left a huge mess every single time.

And here I was, back in Mystic Falls, because Stefan had called me. How he found a way to contact me was a mystery for now, but I really didn't care, as soon as I heard what he had to say. Elena's mom was pregnant again. Elena was having a little brother. This was exactly one of the important moments in her life I had told myself I had to be there. When Stefan had called, I'd just brushed him off. Little did he know I was already looking for plane tickets back.

I had left to protect her, I knew that. But I just couldn't stay away. The nurse had told me back then, that it had been a miracle Miranda, Elena's mom, had become pregnant. Anything could happen during the birth, and I didn't want Elena to live without her mother. I would save her, if necessary. If not, I would keep in the shadows, looking at my little girl.

She was four now. And I was going to see her for the first time in four years. She had probably grown a lot. Human babies did that. I wondered what color her hair would be. I already knew the color of her eyes. Those eyes hadn't left my mind ever since I saw her the first time. Damn that freaking singer bond!

I hadn't really accepted the fact that my heart was actually beating during the time I had been away. The noise was still unbelievable annoying, but it was my only connection to Elena, and the only thing that reassured me she was fine. Of course I knew she would be. Even if I couldn't be there, Stefan and Caroline kept an eye on her. I wasn't sure if she could die before she reached my age, but I didn't want to take that risk. I had twenty years left to make the decision whether I wanted to turn her or not.

As I drove past the new restaurant that had opened in the town, I saw her. Miranda was walking out of the restaurant, The Grill, holding Grayson's hand. They didn't have Elena with them. She had to be at their home or something.

Miranda was obviously far along in her pregnancy. Her stomach was big, showing that she had a little boy in there. Elena's little brother. I slowed down a bit, and watched them as they walked along the streets. They were obviously in love with each other. They would be good parents.

As they turned around the corner, I found my self parking my car and following them. I wanted to know where Elena lived. Right now her heartbeat was steady and slow; she was sleeping.

When they walked up to a house on Maple Street, I stayed outside, watching them go in, before returning to my car. I could feel Elena's presence in the house. She was there, and she was safe. And that was what was important to me.

I could hear the heartbeat of another human in there. That had to be the babysitter. No way Miranda and Grayson had let their four year old daughter be home alone, while they went on a date. That wasn't the people I had watched four years ago.

Happy that she was safe, I started walking back towards the town square. I was hungry as hell. I hadn't fed ever since I left Italy, almost 10 hours ago. Maybe I would find a meal on the way. I didn't really feel like a lousy blood-bag, when I returned to the boarding house. Maybe that new place, The Grill, would be perfect to pick up something to eat.

I walked inside, looking around. The place was nice. There were tables and booths and a small dance floor. On there, on my right, was a bar. Great, this would work out just fine. I sat down on one of the bar stools, ordering a bourbon on the rocks. The dark haired bartender didn't even ask for ID. Instead she looked me up and down, and flashed me her cleavage as she handed me my drink. Great, maybe that could be the meal of tonight.

"Haven't seen you around before. What's your name gorgeous?" she said, letting the bottle stay on the table. I smirked at her and gave her my killer look. Oh yes, I had missed American women.

"That's because I've just returned here, after being overseas. I'm Damon. And you?"

I could smell her arousal mixing with the scent of alcohol and her subtle perfume. Oh well, at least she wasn't as bad as some of the women here. She seemed to be in her late twenties, and she wasn't bad looking. Maybe I would let this one live. She was obviously one people would notice if was missing. Oh well, she would give me blood, and maybe we would have a bit of fun as well. This night wasn't turning out as terrible as I had thought.

"I'm Kelly. Donovan. Tell you what, drinks on the house tonight," she said, refilling my empty tumbler. Oh yes, this was great.

* * *

Two hours later, I was supporting a very drunk Kelly Donovan out of the back door to The Grill. I had to say, that woman wasn't bad at all. After people had started to leave, and the young people had come to dance and drink, she had been in on every drinking game I had in mind. She was totally wasted now, and I should probably carry her, but I didn't bother. She was fine like this.

"I think, I better drive you home, madame. You seem to be very drunk," I said, laughing a bit when she looked up at me with blurred eyes.

"You don't even know where I live," she pointed out, laughing and falling to my side again. I caught her and walked away from my car. She seemed like she would be able to throw up at any time, and I didn't want human puke all over my leather seats. I could just use my vampire speed to speed us to her place, have sex with her, take some blood and then compel her to forget it all. Then I would go home, and sleep at my own place, waiting for Miranda to go into labor. Maybe I could hope to catch a glimpse of Elena at the hospital. I wanted to see her hold her little brother for the first time. I remembered doing that myself, and I wanted to see the expression that would surely be printed on her lips. A little brother was something special, no matter if you were a boy or a girl.

"Well, you can show me the way, and I will promise to carry you," I said, remembering the drunk woman in my arms. I should probably take care of her, and push Elena out of my mind for the next five hours or so. I would have lot's of time to think about her later. I really didn't want to have her innocent little face in mind, when I fucked and drank from Kelly. No need to ruin the experience.

"Fine... That way."

Kelly guided me, and I took her in my arms, carrying her the way she showed me. If I hadn't had my vampire strength, I probably wouldn't have been able to carry her all the way to her house, but lucky for us, I had that feature.

She didn't even notice. She was a bit too drunk to care about the inhuman speed and all. Plus, she seemed to be busy planting sloppy kisses down my neck. I couldn't bring myself to care. Kisses had stopped turning me on a long time ago. I usually needed something a bit more... Touchy. Ah well, we would get to that part, when we were inside.

I stopped in front of the house she had directed me to, and she said something about the door being open. I shrugged and opened the door, setting her down and letting her walk inside by her self. She just needed to say those words...

"Come on in, handsome. You can't just stand out there," she smiled drunkenly at me and made a 'come hither' motion with her fingers. Great, didn't even have to convince her to let me in.

I smirked at her, stepping over the threshold and taking her into my arms. She wasn't bad.

Compelling her to keep silent, I let my fangs drop and quickly pierced her neck. Oh yes, exactly what I needed.

* * *

"You're not staying?" I looked at Kelly as I stood up and started to dress. She wasn't bad, actually. I was glad I let that one live. She could have something good from life, I was sure of that one. I smiled at her and pulled on my jeans.

"Nope. I've got important things to do. Now, tomorrow you're going to feel a bit sore and take some iron pills. I rocked your world and we had a fantastic night. And right now, you're going to sleep." I leaned over the bed to look her into the eyes. Her look turned dazed and then clear again. She smiled at me, kissing me quickly, before laying down.

"Night, handsome."

I chuckled and made my way out of the bedroom, going to the door again. I frowned as I stepped into the living room. Someone was here. Someone breathing. I opened the door on the left of me, and frowned as I stepped in. A child's room. Kelly had a son.

Fortunately, he seemed to have slept through our small encounter. Oh well, I'd experienced worse.

Closing the door behind me, I left the small house, my leather jacket hanging over my shoulder. Nothing like a welcoming drink when you return to your home city.

* * *

"Oh, Stef! Guess who's home!" I walked through the parlor of the boarding house, looking for my baby bro and his annoying singer. Only bad thing about being back in Mystic Falls would be those two. I felt like puking every God damn time I saw those two exchange those loving looks. And I'm a freaking vampire.

Not getting an answer, I frowned and walked upstairs, to his wing of the house. He would've told me, if they'd left Mystic Falls. He knew right from the moment he called me, that I would come. Sadly, Stefan was my brother, and even though we'd spent the past 254 years fighting like crazy, he still knew me better than anyone else. God, I was turning into a sap.

Not bothering to knock at all, I opened the door to his room, walking right in on Caroline laying on my baby bro, both of them a bit too naked for my taste. Ugh, not a great way to start my visit. Stefan opened his eyes, his hand slowly caressing Caroline's blonde hair, while he motioned for me to get the hell out. I rolled my eyes at his lovely gestures, and hurried out of their room. Maybe I should just go for the day. I really didn't feel like listening to my brother having sex.

Trying to push the way too loving couple out of my mind, I made my way to my own room. I was in big need of a drink, gladly a strong one. And maybe I should go to sleep. I couldn't just return to my old sleeping habits, sleeping during the day and partying all night long. I needed to be fit for fight when Miranda would go into labor. Maybe I would even see Elena at the hospital. Laying down on the bed with a book and a glass of bourbon, I couldn't help but think about the little girl. How did she look now? Would her hair have grown? Would she still launch into a fit of smiles and giggles when she saw me? Would I even let her see me?

She was four years old now. She wouldn't remember me, if she saw me, right? She was still just a small child. And I would just be another stranger at the hospital. Would she be talkative? Maybe she would be shy, sticking to her parents side.

No, she couldn't do that. They would be locked in the labor room, and she would be forced outside. Would they let her walk around the hospital alone? Would she even know her way around there? Would she be curious and wander off on her own? In a dangerous hospital? She could be hurt!

I swallowed the rest of my drink, disgusted by my feelings of concern for this little girl. Sure, I had accepted that the fact that I cared for her wasn't going to change anytime soon. But I still felt weird, feeling again. I had gotten so used to not feeling anything at all, and now I was forced to feel something for this human baby girl. Would I be able to be an okay protector for the next twenty years? And what the hell was I going to do, when the time came? Twenty years is nothing to a vampire. Especially not one as old as me.

I sighed and put away the book. I couldn't focus on that one tonight. I stood from the bed, filling up another glass and emptying it just as fast. Maybe I should just throw away the glass, and drink straight from the bottle.

Settling down on the bed with the bottle in my lap, I closed my eyes and focused on the loud thumping in my chest. It was slow. Elena was sleeping, soundly it seemed. I liked that idea. Her lying in a soft bed, her small body wrapped up in blankets. Did she have a teddy? Someone to protect her, when I wasn't there? That was what I needed to do! I needed to get her a teddy. What kinds of teddies did girls like her like? I would have to go shopping in the morning. Yeah, I would do that...

* * *

I was woken up by the sun the next morning. I was in my bed, the bottle of bourbon still in my lap and my head resting on the headboard. Damn, I'd just fallen asleep like that. And I hadn't even been drunk! It had been years since I'd just passed out like that.

Rubbing my neck, I got out of bed and started to dress. I wanted to go and buy that teddy bear for Elena. Yes, it was something saps did, but I wanted her to have one. I wanted her to have something from me, even though she would probably never know who it came from.

Taking a swig from the bourbon bottle, I made my way downstairs, making sure I had my wallet and my car keys. Everything I needed. Stefan and Caroline were nowhere to be seen or heard, for which I was very grateful for. Wouldn't have been the best morning, if I woke up to noises from them.

Walking down to the basement, I emptied the bourbon and opened the fridge. I needed blood. I was actually going to be amongst humans, and I hadn't gotten enough from Kelly the night before, to keep me sated. I needed more.

Quickly drinking a blood-bag, I left the bottle down there, and went up to my car. That had to be the quickest morning I had ever had. Normally I took my time, enjoying fresh blood, from the vein, and took a shower afterwards. But to be honest, I really wanted to buy that teddy, and then check up on Elena. Her heartbeat was a bit upbeat today, but not in the upset kind of way. She was awake, probably playing. I briefly wondered what she liked to play. Would she run around or sit with barbie dolls?

I shook my head and started the engine. I was _so _not thinking about stuff like that! There had to be limits to my sappiness. And this was definitely overstepping those limits. I didn't need to know how she played.

I pulled out of the driveway, trying to get my mind on something else than a beautiful little girl running around, playing with her toys. I still didn't know what color her hair was. I knew the color of her eyes – God, I knew that color way too good. Her big eyes had never left my mind.

Once again, I had to shake my head, and push her out of my mind. I just needed to focus on getting that teddy for her.

* * *

I had a weird feeling in my stomach, as I pulled into the parking lot at Mystic Falls Hospital. Miranda had gone into labor, and I could feel Elena's presence in the big building. She wasn't with her parents, and I felt at unease. I wanted to make sure she was okay. Not bothering to even compel the receptionist, I walked to the elevator, following the feeling of Elena I had. My heart was thumping faster than usual, which could mean a lot of things. She could be happy, she could be afraid. I just wanted to find her.

The elevator stopped at the sixth floor, and I hurried out. The teddy was safely behind my back, just in case I would see her. I wanted to surprise her, somehow. I had no idea how, but I would do something. I would figure something out when I found her. And that was my main focus at the moment. Finding her.

I followed the feeling I had of her presence, followed the sound of our synchronized heart beats. And all of sudden, way too early, was she standing before me.

She had grown a lot since the last time I'd seen her. She was around the height of my waist now, maybe a bit taller. Her dark brown hair was almost down to her shoulders, and her small frame was a lot thinner than when I'd last seen her. She wasn't a newborn anymore. Her brown eyes were looking at me with happiness and wonder. Around her neck was a stethoscope. How had she managed to get a hold of that?

She giggled and ran to me, standing right in front of me. As if on instinct, I kneeled down to her height, now looking into her beautiful doe eyes. They were exactly the same.

"What's your name, princess?" I asked, not wanting to scare her. I already knew her name, but she couldn't know that. She would probably be freaked out.

"I'm Elena! And I'm not a princess! I'm going to be a world famous doctor, just like my Daddy! Can I listen to your heart?"

She looked at me with those adorable eyes, and held out her stethoscope. I smiled at her, nodding, while opening my leather jacket. She wouldn't be able to hear my heart through that one.

Her small hand guided the instrument to my chest, hitting exactly the spot where my, now beating, heart was. She smiled and giggled at me, before taking it off.

"I think you're just fine, misser Damon"

She cocked her head slightly, looking at me with big eyes. I didn't let my face falter, even though I had been shocked. She knew my name. How the fuck could she know my name? I hadn't told her! I hadn't even told her back then!

I had to think about that later. I had to continue this conversation with her!

"Now, doctor, would you mind checking my friend as well? I don't think he's good." I showed her the teddy bear I'd hidden behind my bag. Her small face was lit up with happiness, as she took in the teddy. Her doe eyes went to mine, and I found myself returning her smile. Then a serious expression came over her face, as she put the stethoscope to the bear's chest. After listening for a while, she took them out, and looked at me, still serious.

"Misser, teddy is sick! We has to help him, so he can feel all better!" she said, trying to keep her face as serious as possible. I laughed and handed her the teddy bear. She would love it.

"I think you are completely right. Here you are, doctor Elena," I said. Her mouth fell agape, as she accepted the bear and hugged it tightly to her body.

"Thank you, misser Damon! That's very nice of you!" She hugged the bear tightly, before looking at me again, her face lit with happiness. Oh, how I loved to see that face happy. She deserved to be happy. And I had actually been the reason why she was happy!

"Take good care of him, sweetheart," I said, reaching forward and stroking her cheek lightly. Her hand went to mine, and she grabbed my finger, just like she had done back when she had been a newborn. Her eyes looked at mine, as she opened my hand slightly and pressed a kiss onto my palm.

"See you later, misser Damon!"

And with that comment, she was running down the hall, her new teddy bear clutched close to her body. I looked after her, my mouth slightly agape, and my hand still held in the air. What the hell had just happened?

* * *

I stayed at the hospital until I was sure Miranda was good. I was lurking in the shadows of the room, as I saw Elena hold her little brother for the first, time, noticed the smile on her lips, and the teddy bear by her side. Everything was good. She was going to be good. She had her family, and that was what mattered. I'd done my job, for now.

The first thing I did, when I returned home, was to grab the bottle of bourbon I had stashed in the parlor, taking a large swig from it. I needed to talk to Blondie again. And talking to Caroline, usually requires a large amount of alcohol.

"Stefan? Caroline? You guys home?" I walked up to Stefan's wing of the house once again, this time not caring if they were already going at it like rabbits. I needed to get some things cleared with Caroline. She'd been through this shit, she knew how Elena felt.

"Damon? Stefan's not home, he's out hunting," Caroline said, emerging from Stefan's room, just as I raised my hand to knock at the door. I didn't smile at her, but brushed past her, walking into Stefan's room.

"I need you to tell me something without starting your usual chatter. I'm serious here, Caroline," I said, taking another swig from the bottle. She frowned, crossing her arms over her chest and sitting down on a chair. I started pacing around in his room, the bottle still in my hand.

"I saw her. Down at the hospital. She knew my freaking name! I never told her! I didn't want her to know it. But she just called me Damon. She knew my fucking name, Caroline! How the hell could she know my name? And don't pull your usual talking at me, just. Freaking. Tell. Me." I grew even more furious as I spoke, drinking from the bottle again. I needed to feel relaxing burning sensation down my throat. And, for the first time in 250 years, I wished I was human, just to feel numb from the alcohol. I needed to be numb, to get away from all of this. But sadly, as a vampire, you can't drink yourself into a stupor. I could consume every single drop of alcohol in this house, and I still wouldn't be numb. I would be drunk, yes, and I probably wouldn't be able to control the words coming from my mouth, but I wouldn't be fucking numb.

"She's four, Damon. She'll always know who you are, even though she won't understand. I knew Stefan's name, right from the moment I saw him. As soon as he looked at me, I knew his name was Stefan Salvatore. There's nothing you can do, Damon. She'll know stuff. She'll do stuff, you won't expect. It's always going to be like that. She's meant for you, and you're meant for her. It will be that way, whether you want it or not," Caroline said, looking at me from Stefan's chair. His diary was on the table, and Caroline was just sitting there, looking at me.

"She wasn't supposed to find out my name! I wasn't supposed to meet her! I kept away for four years, Caroline! Fucking. Four. Years! She was supposed to forget everything. I was supposed to be a stranger in the hospital, giving her a teddy. She was never supposed to know my name. But now she does! And I can't be what I need to be for her! I fucking can't!" I paced even harder, not caring at all if I ruined Stefan's precious floor boards. I needed to pace right now, I needed to freaking destroy something.

Emptying the bottle, I threw it towards the wall, feeling better as I heard it shatter and felt the power flowing through my veins. This was who I was. A vampire. A predator. I destroyed something, I used my supernatural strength. I didn't go around, caring for small brown eyed girls.

"Damon, stop fighting it! She's your singer! You can't fight it. You can't stay away. You won't ever be able to. You need to stay here, you need to protect her. And I know you can do it. I know you think you're evil, but you're not. Just stop fighting it," she said, looking at me with those caring eyes. Fuck this shit, I didn't need her sympathy. I didn't need her fucking caring. I needed to get the hell out of here, and I needed to get away from fucking Elena. I needed to get away from that little girl, before I destroyed her fucking life.

* * *

**Well, so there's chapter 3 for you guys! PLEASE tell me what you think in a review! I love getting those, they're like fuel for my inspiration! ;) **

**And if there's anyone living in London, come say hello! I'm there for a full week, and can't wait to see the city! See you all, when I get back! **


	5. Chapter 4

**I am back from London all tanned and happy! I had a WONDERFUL trip and am now returning to writing and uploading and stuff like that. Here's chapter 4! I hope you enjoy it. I enjoy writing this, way too much. So, I'll see you at the bottom?**

* * *

**Chapter 4:**

_-1 year later_

Okay, I'll admit it, I'm pretty bad at staying away. But as I drove through the streets of Mystic Falls, I couldn't help but remind myself that this was a big thing. Elena was turning five. Yes, five years seemed like a lot, to the 279 year old vampire. Don't mock me.

I'd told myself all the way from New York city, that I just wanted to check up on her. That I just wanted to make sure she was okay. But who the hell was I kidding? I knew she was good. I could feel her heartbeat. It was normal. I would know if something happened. And even if something did happen, Stefan kept an eye on Elena. Don't ask me how he found out she was my singer. I just know that he called me, back when Elena was having her baby brother. And here I was again, returning to the town, to make sure she had a nice birthday – without her seeing me.

I'd let her see me the last time. That wouldn't be happening this time. I would stay away, watching her from afar. If her parents would take her out, I would probably be sitting a couple of tables away, drinking bourbon or coffee, watching the little girl eat whatever she liked, and maybe even open presents.

I wouldn't admit it to anyone, for anything in the world, but I really hoped she had my teddy bear. I so hoped she would bring it, that it actually mattered to her. But to be honest, I didn't believe it would. I was just some stranger in the hospital, and she probably wouldn't remember me.

I had a day before she would have her birthday. One day to settle back into Mystic Falls, settle back into my old habits and get my fill of ladies here. Maybe I would pay Kelly a visit again. She'd been pretty up to it the last time. Why wouldn't she be now?

I parked out front of the boarding house, and stepped out of my car. Everything looked exactly the same. Stefan really never bothered to change the place, and somehow, I kind of liked that. I liked that the boarding house had been the same, over the past 100 years. And it actually did serve as some kind of a home to me. When I returned to Mystic Falls, it was my home, and I liked that. Italy was something else. Of course, all of my childhood memories were there, and my family actually lived there. The only people in the whole world, that actually knew Stefan and my secret. They knew we were vampires, and I'd actually paid them a visit, the last time I'd been there.

I pulled out my duffel bag from the trunk, ready to go inside. I knew both Caroline and Stefan would be home. They'd told me they would be. Nice knowing that. Not that they ever actually left this silly place. My dear brother and his boring singer hadn't left town, ever since they came here, just after Caroline was turned. Why, I don't really get. I mean, we were vampires! We had the chance to go see the world, to actually achieve something with our eternal lives.

But no. Both of them stayed here, Caroline working as an event planner, and Stefan following her around, trying to make their lives as human as possible. God, pathetic people.

I strolled through the front door, looking around the parlor. Caroline was sitting by the fire, paper work spread out on the floor, and at least three cellphones in her hands. I raised one eyebrow and looked at her. She immediately looked up at me, surely confused by the beating heart. Right, she hadn't grown as used to it, as I had.

"Damon. I need you to go. I'm organizing Elena's birthday party, and I'm behind schedule. The parlors occupied for the rest of the day. Go to your room or something."

I chuckled and made my way to the stairs. So Caroline was planning Elena's birthday party. That meant her parents actually did something for this event.

Good. Elena deserved to have a party for this. She deserved to be spoiled rotten by her parents. And if they didn't have the money, I could make sure they got them. That wouldn't be too hard.

Without saying a word to Blondie, I made my way upstairs, ready to lay down in my own bed for once. Nothing like being in your own bed. A bed that hadn't been tainted by the countless women I'd brought to hotels.

Yeah, I'm one of those guys. I have never ever brought a girl to my own bed, and I probably never will. I just don't want their hair pins and make-up all over my sheets, and my bed is for _me. _Not for those sluts. Plus, I wouldn't want to get blood all over my sheets either. I mean, I'm not going to clean after that!

So, call me Christian Grey if you like, but I'm not letting any girl sleep in my bed. Never have, and never will. That's just not going to change.

Throwing my duffel bag on the floor, I quickly rid my self of my clothes, before walking into my bathroom, needing a shower more than ever.

* * *

I couldn't believe it was actually me, as I stood in front of my full figure mirror. Caroline had forced me to wear a blazer over my usual button up and dark jeans. That blonde bitch, had actually forced me to wear it. What the hell was this world coming to?

She had pulled the Elena card. Of course she had. Elena would be there, and even though I had no plans what so ever about letting her see me, Caroline had made me put on the tux.

Not that I didn't look good in it – don't get me wrong. As always, my body looked stunningly good, prepared for the ladies at the parties. I would be able to pick up someone from that party. Get a quick snack or something. Right after I'd seen Elena open her presents and blow out her candles. Then I would find a girl. Perhaps a younger one this time.

I rolled my eyes and took a big swig from the bottle of bourbon on my table. Oh yes, I was drinking, as usual. I didn't exactly imagine Elena's parents having alcohol at her party – so, I had to bring the party myself. And make sure Elena didn't get to it.

"Damon, are you-.. Seriously, you're drinking? You're going to a five year old's birthday party! Could you just leave the alcohol home, just this time? I don't want anyone getting drunk tonight! This is a huge business deal for me, don't ruin it!" Caroline furiously stepped into my room, ripping the bottle from my hands, and throwing it out the open window. I felt my lips press into a hard line, as I looked at her. She didn't budge a single cm. She crossed her arms over her chest, and raised both eyebrows at me. She was becoming too brave for her own good. One day, I wouldn't be able to hold back from killing her.

"This is important to me, Damon. Please, I understand you want to go and see Elena, and I did a lot of work, to be able to get you in. So, please, don't fuck this up. And don't you dare snack on one of the girls at that party! This Elena's closest family and friends. You'll only hurt her," she said, not even flinching under my look. God, I felt like snapping her neck, but she was right. This was a big deal, apparently, and I didn't want to ruin anything for Elena – Elena. Not Caroline.

"Fine. I'll behave. You happy? Now, let's get going. Where did you say this party was held?" I asked, taking one last glance at myself in the mirror.

"The park. All of the founding families will be there, so you better behave. Just stay in the shadows and stuff. You'll be in Elena's life for a long time, so don't let her parents see you. They'll remember you, and you won't be able to actually be in her life later. Also, remember her gi-"  
"Caroline, I've got it under control!" I snapped, turning around and looking at her. She rolled her eyes and walked to the door.

"Fine, Damon, suit yourself. As long as you behave!" She walked out, slamming the door on her way. I rolled my eyes at her, and looked at the small gift on the table. Nah, I would wait. I wanted to give it to her, personally. I needed to tell her happy birthday, when we could be in private. I would visit her later.

Checking over my room one last time, I closed the door behind me, and walked down to my car, ready to go to her party.

* * *

I have _never _been one for birthday parties. At least not, when there isn't any alcohol. But God damn it, if I weren't standing with a glass of _soda_, watching the kids run around and play. Elena had been put in a red summer dress, and had seemed overwhelmed by the gifts she'd gotten from her family and friends. She was now running around with a dark skinned girl, playing catch. And here I was, 279 year old bad ass vampire, watching her. This singer crap had me totally turned around, for God's sake.

"Fancy seeing you here!" I smirked at the voice, as I instantly recognized it. I turned around, meeting the eyes of Kelly. She had dressed up in a summer dress as well, hers black, and her dark hair were made into a bun. Her flirty eyes were framed by dark make-up, and I had to give it to her. She cleaned up pretty nice.

"Kelly! What a pleasure! What are you doing here?" I asked, hugging her gently, as if we were old friends. Oh well, I had been a lot closer to her, just a year ago.

"My boy's pretty good friends with Elena. Her parents invited us as well, even though we aren't founding families and all," she said, shrugging and looking at Elena. A blond haired boy had joined them now, running after both girls, while laughing. I raised an eyebrow and looked back at Kelly.

"A husband I should know about?" I asked, winking at her. She laughed and shook her head, taking a sip from the beer she was holding.

"Not at all. Matt's father left just as soon as he heard I was pregnant. Never saw him again, and I don't feel bad about it," she said, looking at my hand, "you're drinking soda? Why don't I get you a beer instead? You're a bit too old to be drinking soda, don't you think?"

I laughed and nodded. If only she knew just how right she were. She handed me her beer, asking me to hold onto it for a moment, and then disappeared between the people. Caroline and Stefan were in deep talk with some other family, laughing and pretending they fit in. God, why did they even bother trying? Oh well, if it hadn't been for Caroline's job, I wouldn't be able to get this close to Elena. She had, after all, made sure I was allowed in.

Kelly came back, another beer in her hand and a big smile on her lips. We switched, and I took a swig from it, enjoying the taste of alcohol instead of that crappy soda. I hadn't drunk that nasty stuff in years, and I certainly wasn't beginning again.

"Now, that looks way better. So, care to tell me why you're here exactly? You don't look old enough to be a dad," Kelly said, raising one eyebrow at me. I laughed.

"My brother's girlfriend organized this, and she told me I _had _to come. I get why. The food is to die for," I said, lying through my teeth. These pathetic humans had no idea how to cook. The food was greasy, typical American barbeque. If only I had made a dish to show them how it's done. But then again, that would have indicated I cared about this whole thing, and I didn't. The only reason I'd shown up, was for Elena. And I was going to see her again tonight. I was going to deliver my gift to her personally. Nothing of that, putting it on a table crap. No, I wanted to give it to her in private.

"You have a brother? Is he just as hot as you?" she asked, looking around the crowds, undoubtedly searching for another dark haired, blue eyed man. I laughed and shook my head at her.

"He's nothing like me. And he's pretty serious with his girlfriend. They've been together _forever_," I said, enjoying my own little private joke. One she wouldn't get.

"Damn it. Oh well, what a shame. So, you planning on staying around this time?" she asked, drinking from her beer again. Shouldn't that bottle be empty by now? I took a huge swig from my own, hoping Caroline didn't see me. She had told me today would be alcohol free. Oh well, who was she to decide for me. I had a little under 200 years on her.

"Don't know. I'm a man that likes to travel, Kelly. And there is still parts of this world, waiting to see me," I said, winking at her. She pouted slightly at me, before putting down the beer on an empty table behind us.

"Well, then I hope I get to have you a couple times more, before you take off," she said, winking at me, before walking away. Sleeping with the same woman more than once? Oh well, maybe I would do an exception with Kelly. She actually seemed somewhat cool, and her blood hadn't been too bad. And I had to stay here for a couple of months, before Elena started school. I could have fun with Kelly while I was waiting for September to come around.

"Damon, I said no alcohol!" Caroline snatched the beer from my hand, setting it away on a table, before giving me the deathliest look she could manage. If I'd been human, I should be afraid. But I wasn't. I smirked at her, reaching for the beer once again.

"Kelly gave it to me. I didn't go for it my self. That has to be okay!" I said, quickly snatching it and emptying it in one go. I really needed to get a hold of something stronger than that. Some bourbon, preferably. But I did promise Caroline I wouldn't get drunk and start embarrassing her. Oh well, broken promises.

"No more than that one! God, I can't believe I have to say these things to you! You act like a child!" Caroline said, fury lacing her sharp voice. I just smirked and rolled my eyes at her.

"Sure, _Mom. _I'll behave." I raised both my eyebrows once, before walking past Caroline, searching for someone to talk to.

* * *

Elena's party went on for pretty long. When I finally returned to the boarding house, it couldn't go fast enough with getting changed. I needed to get out of that fucking blazer. Damn Caroline for being so stubborn.

I shrugged on my usual leather jacket, and then picked up the gift on my table. Now I just needed to wait outside Elena's window, for Miranda to tuck her in. And I had to make Elena invite me in somehow. I did have my work cut out for me.

Not bothering about my dear brother, I walked right through the parlor and grabbed my car keys. I would park the car a couple of blocks away from her house, and then speed the rest of the way. That would be the best way to do this.

Gassing up, I sped down the streets of Mystic Falls, right until I was just around the corner of Elena's house. I parked the car, and got out, remembering the present. Using my vampire speed, I hurried to a big tree outside her window, and looked in. Great timing, Miranda was tucking her in. Elena hugged her teddy close to her body, as her mother arranged the sheets around her. The teddy bear I'd given her! She was sleeping with it!  
I smiled and looked around her room. It fit her perfectly. The walls were a cream colored, and her furniture were white. She had a dresser, holding all of her clothes and a desk. This was a room she would be happy about in a few years as well.

Miranda turned off the big light, leaving the room only lit up by the small lamp on her bedside table. Elena closed her eyes, hugging the teddy tight, as Miranda closed the door, leaving Elena alone in the room.

How the hell was I supposed to come in? The window I sat in front of was open, but I wouldn't be able to go in... Would I?  
I carefully reached my hand forward, surprised that it wasn't stopped by the usual barrier, I was met with in a house I wasn't invited into.

Not wasting anymore time, I crawled inside, now standing in the middle of her room. Our synchronized heartbeats were slow, telling me she'd already fallen asleep. She had to be tired from that day.

I smiled and sat down on the bed next to her. She looked like an angel, as she lay there, her little arms wrapped around her teddy and her eyes closed softly. I smiled at her innocent face expression, and reached forward to gently stroke her cheek. As soon as my fingers touched the skin on her cheek, her eyes shut open, and focused on me. A smile made it's way onto her mouth, as she reached up to her mouth, telling me to be quiet.

"Jer is sleeping. You need to be quiet, misser Damon," she whispered, smiling at me. I tried to look as casual as possible, smiling at her and nodding.

"I just wanted to give you your birthday present," I said, hiding the small book and pen behind my back. Her face instantly lit up, as she sat up in her bed. She was wearing a t-shirt way too big to fit her, with the local baseball team's logo on front.

"You know it's my birthday? And you brought me a present!" She giggled, moving closer to my body. I smiled and showed her the items in my hand. Her eyes grew, as she looked first at them, and the back up at me.

"Do you know what this is, Elena?" I asked softly. She shook her head, her hair flying everywhere. I chuckled at her, as she cocked her head, looking at me with a patient face expression.

"This is a diary. You write down your most private thoughts in this book, Elena. It's a private thing, and you don't show it to others. It's yours, and yours alone," I said, handing her the book and the pen. She looked at me with big eyes, a smile slowly making it's way onto her small lips.

"Thank you, misser!" She suddenly leaped from the bed, throwing her arms around my neck and hugging me tight to her small body. I felt the air leave my lungs, as her skin made contact to mine. I'd never held a human child this close to my body. I didn't feel a single urge towards her blood. I felt disgusted by the mere thought of feeding from this little innocent person. She were to be taken care of, to be loved and to be treated perfectly.

I gently placed my arms around her, hugging her back, as if she could break at any minute. I was a lot stronger than her bones, and I didn't want to hurt her.

She pulled back slightly and smiled at me, her face still lit with happiness. I kept my arms on her back, as she sat in my lap, her small hand reaching out to touch my cheek lightly. She ran her hand over the light stubble on my cheek, and giggled.

"Your cheek is tickling me," she whispered, suddenly remembering to keep her voice down. I smiled and grabbed her hand, removing it from my face, and placing a small kiss on her index finger.

"That's because I'm a man. And men grow beards. This is what happens, when we don't shave," I said, chuckling lightly at her confused face. She then shrugged, wrapping both her hands around my thumb and my pinky, opening my hand and bringing it to her mouth. She left a sweet little kiss in my palm, before looking up at me with a smile on her lips.

"Thank you for the present, misser Damon. Will you please tuck me in now?" she asked, yawning big time. I smiled and quickly agreed, not knowing how I would ever be able to say no to this girl. She had my wrapped around her finger.

She crawled under the covers again, pulling her teddy close to her body, as I carefully tucked her in. She look at my one last time, saying a small thank you, before her eyes fell shut, her slowing breath telling me she was sleeping soundly. I placed the diary and the pen on her bedside table, before disappearing out the window and speeding back to my car.

* * *

Over the next few months, I had a lot of battles with my self. Should I really stay, and watch over Elena on her first day of school? Or should I just leave already? I knew I would be leaving as soon as her day was finished, but I wasn't sure whether I should stay for it or not. It would've been so easy for me that drain her dry that night. I could've ripped open her throat and fed on her blood, but I didn't. For some odd reason, I didn't even feel like tasting her blood.

In the end, I came to the conclusion that I would stay and see her first day of school, and then I would be off. To somewhere far away. And this time, I was staying gone for good. I was only making her life harder, and she didn't need that. I wanted her life to be free of trouble.

I actually had a lot of fun, during those months. Kelly and I somehow saw each other regularly, keeping my blood lust and libido down. The citizens of Mystic Falls were actually safe, while I was there.

But of course, Kelly couldn't be compelled too much. I would have to break off things with her soon. And this time, I would have to compel to forget everything about me, 'cause I couldn't have her remember me. If I ever decided to come back again, she would notice that I hadn't changed, and we couldn't have that. That would create an unnecessary amount of fuss.

The day of Elena's first school day came a little too quickly for my liking. Staying in town, also meant that I was able to watch Elena from afar. When I hadn't been at home drinking, or with Kelly, I'd been in town, watching over my little girl.

She hung out with the exactly same people as she did at her birthday party. That little dark skinned girl, and the blond boy, Kelly's son. Matt, I think.

And I wasn't surprised to see the three of them stand hand in hand, with their backpacks on their backs, on their first day of school. Their parents were there, kissing them goodbye, as they sent them out on the adventure that would be kindergarten.

As their parents drove off, I stayed. I was going to stay the entire day, watching over Elena. School could be tough, and I wanted to make sure she had a great first day. She deserved it.

Her classes went fine. Her teacher was sweet, and she seemed to swoon over the little girl with the pig tails and the big brown eyes. When they had their lunch break, I'd hidden myself in the darkness of some trees and bushes, watching as she sat down with her new classmates. She fit right into the circle, laughing and joking with the other girls. And even some of the boys.

But all of sudden, she excused her self from lunch break. The others watched over her stuff, as she stood up and started running – right towards the place I was standing. I gulped and pressed myself backwards, trying to blend in further with the bushes.

But that didn't matter. All too soon, she'd made her way into the green plants, standing in front of me. Trying not to look too strictly at her, I crouched down and let her jump onto my knee. She cocked her head at me, doing that adorable face she was doing when she was trying to understand something.

"You're here," she finally said, her hand reaching forward towards my cheek. I smiled and nodded slightly, letting her touch the stubble on my chin and cheek. She giggled a bit and then looked me into the eyes again.

"I have written in the diary, just like you said, misser," she said, a beaming smile appearing on her lips. I smiled at her, and placed my hand on her back, to make sure she didn't fall down.

"That's good, Elena. Are you having a good first day of school?" I asked, smiling at her. She nodded eagerly, almost falling down from my knee. I chuckled lightly at her, holding her small body. She leaned forward, hugging my arm, before jumping down.

"Thank you for looking out for me, misser Damon."  
And with that comment, she ran out of the bush again and joined her friends. I almost felt like changing my plans. Almost.

* * *

**So, there you have it! PLEASE leave a review! I am overwhelmed by 70 reviews, it's completely crazy. Thank you guys! I'll try to update next week, but I'm falling behind on future chapters, so I'm not sure whether it'll be up or not! **

**Thank you guys!**


	6. Chapter 5

**Oh my God, you guys, I am so sorry for not updating! I would've updated yesterday, but it was kind of my birthday, sooo... I may have been a bit busy.. Watching Doctor Who... again, sorry! But here you are! There might be a bit of a wait for the next chapter, because I'm running out of pre-written chapters, and I'm trying my hardest to be in front of you guys - thank you for your patience!**

**So, here's chapter 5! **

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**Chapter 5:**

_-9 years later_

As soon as my plane landed in Mystic Falls, I'd made my decision. I was staying a lot longer than I'd done the past years. I would stay for a year, maybe two or three. I needed to be here.

This time, Stefan didn't even have to call me. It was Elena's 14th birthday tomorrow, and I longed to see her. Also, the fact that she only had 10 years left, before I had to go and destroy her entire world made me want to see her. Just see how carefree she could be, before everything would change. Before _I _would change everything.

I already felt bad about it. I was going to come into her life, telling her that she had to make a life or dead decision – for herself. She probably wouldn't even remember me. She had only been a child, the last time I'd seen her. She was a teenager now, on her way to becoming a woman.

Time was definitely flying by, way too fast.

As I walked out of the airport, I couldn't help but be mad at my self. I had wasted 9 years. 9. Fucking. Years. I'd stayed away, holding up my promise to myself, and I hadn't regretted anything as much as that.

Stefan had called me over the years, telling me about Elena's school stuff, and how things were going, but I'd stayed strong, and stayed on the other side of the Atlantic ocean.

Mystic Falls would've been hot on our trail, if I'd stayed in the city, though. I had no idea how Caroline managed to stay there, working as an event planner. The towns people would think she'd had more than one plastic surgery during the time, for her to keep the exact same face.

But they weren't my problem. I'd been clever. I'd made sure I hadn't actually talked to someone, without compelling them to forget me. I knew how to clean up after myself, unlike my dear brother and his blonde singer.

Speaking of which, they were the reason that my blue Camaro was parked outside the airport, just waiting for me to get in and drive the 90 minute trip back home. I quickly put my bags in the backseat, not wanting to put them in the back. Then I got in the drivers seat, put on my sunglasses, and headed for Mystic Falls once again.

* * *

As soon as I reached the town square, I decided to go in and have a drink. The drive had been pretty long after all, and I hadn't had a drink, ever since I left Spain. I wouldn't mind stopping for a drink. I seriously needed it.

I pulled into The Grill's parking lot, putting my bags in the trunk, before entering the the restaurant. It was early night, only 8. The youth would probably arrive within an hour. Maybe I could find someone to snack on, after a good drink?

Keeping that in mind, I made my way to the bar, surprised when I was met by the stare of a young dark haired man, and not Kelly. She'd entered my mind, just as I'd sat down, remembering how she'd giving me drinks years before.

Oh well. You couldn't expect a woman to work at the same place throughout so long – especially not a bartending job. I shrugged and ordered a bourbon from the boy behind the bar. He looked me up and down shortly, before filling a glass and handing it to me. I rolled my eyes at his gesture, and quickly started sipped. This was exactly what I needed.

I hadn't sat there for long, before I heard the laughs and loud yells from teenagers. I didn't even bother looking at them, before emptying my glass and ordering a new one – on the rocks. I couldn't stay here for too long. Teenagers were annoying.

As the bartender handed me back my glass, I felt the air next to me shift, and I instantly knew she was there. She was sitting next to me.

I fought to keep my eyes on the shelves of alcohol across the wall. It would be more than just rude to start staring at her. She would find me creepy, weird and that would make her stay away from me – not exactly what I needed.

As soon as I felt her eyes on me, though, I turned my head and looked at her. She had changed a lot, during the past nine years. Her dark brown were now hanging over her shoulders and her breasts, completely straight. Her lips were a lot fuller and her face had matured a lot. But her brown eyes, they hadn't changed at all, They were looking at me, happiness hidden underneath the confusion. She probably found me familiar.

I raised my glass, smiled at her, and the returned to looking at the wall, the smirk staying on my lips. She could still remember me.

Out of the corner of my eyes, I saw her look back at the bartender, retrieving her drinks and looking at me one last time, before returning to the table she'd come from.

After sitting there for at least ten minutes, I slowly turned trying to look at casual as possible. She was sitting in one of the booths, talking to a some of her friends. I recognized the brown skinned girl from her birthday party. She'd grown up as well. Her hair was curly now, though, hanging just beneath her shoulders. Her thin fingers were playing with the straw of her drink, turning it around in a way that didn't quiet followed her fingers. Huh, a witch. Interesting.

Next to her was another one of the kids from her birthday party. Geez, didn't she meet any new persons? It was the blond kid – Kelly's boy! He really didn't look like his mother at all. He was obviously still a young teenager – couldn't be much older than 14, maybe 15. His blond hair was cut short, and he was obviously starting to work on getting a body the girls would like. He had a long way to go.

And next to Elena sat a girl that looked much younger than the others. Her, I had no problems finding out who was. She already looked like a little Kelly. Her brown hair was long, already curly, and her pouting face reminded me a bit too much of her mothers. Obviously, she was the blond one's little sister. She couldn't be much older than 8 or 9 years old. Elena was babysitting already? I sure as hell was happy that wasn't me. The girl I was supposed to 'babysit' was soon to be 14 years of age, and perfectly capable of taking care of her self.

I stood up from my chair, not bothering to look around the place for a quick snack, before I made my way out the door. I couldn't let Elena ogle me too much. Couldn't have her go and remember just what had happened back when she was a kid. I still planned on staying away from her, for as long time as possible. I still hadn't figured out what to do when she turned 24, though. Would I let her go or... Turn her?

I shook my head, getting into my car. I so wasn't thinking about that now. I needed to get home, and get everything prepared for Elena's 14th birthday party.

Okay, so 14 may not be a big thing – not to a normal human, anyways. But this was kind of special to me. I had missed her birthdays ever since her 5th, and I was actually back for this one. Of course I would just be another stranger, hiding in the shadows of her party. This time I wouldn't let her see me. She'd already seen me once, and if I attracted too much attention, she would probably start to remember. And we couldn't have that. She needed to live her life fully, without the memories of this weird man, who never changed.

The mental picture of Elena sitting next to me, ordering drinks filled my mind, as I drove back. She had changed a lot. She was growing up, and it was scaring the hell out of me. Some part of me had hoped she would be extremely unattractive. But no. If she kept on evolving like this, she wouldn't be anywhere near unattractive.

Our bond would be stronger. Of course it would, I'd fucking felt it over the years! These past nine years had been hell on earth. Worse than the time I'd spent with the she-bitch – oh, I was so not thinking about _her _now!

At least, if Elena had grown up to be ugly or fat or something like that, I wouldn't have to be the least worried about being attracted to her. But no, fate wanted something else. God, at least I had, hopefully, at least 4 years until she would start looking attractive to someone like me. She was still a little girl, with a little girl's body. Hopefully she would stay that way for the next many years.

I shook my head, as I pulled into the parking space in front of the boarding house. I needed a drink. A very very strong one. Why did it have to be so hard to be back, but even harder being away? Back when my heart had started beating, I had been so set on just leaving. Leaving and letting her die. But no, I had to stay and see her.

I couldn't help but wonder if I'd been able to actually stay away, if I hadn't seen her that first time. If I hadn't stroked her cheek, and seen her bright brown eyes. If I hadn't gone to see her that night, would I have been able to leave her behind? Forget about it, and just ignore the thumping in my chest, I'd grown to care for?

To be honest, I couldn't really imagine doing that. That would mean not caring that one day, it would just stop beating. And Elena would be...

I couldn't even let the picture of Elena dying come to my mind. Especially not with me somewhere partying, not caring at all that my heart had stopped beating.

I got out of my car, grabbing my bags from the trunk and walking inside. Caroline and Stefan had briefly told me they were taking a vacation. Of course, Caroline had planned Elena's birthday party, and then had to go to the other side of the world, for a three month vacation with Stefan. Just great. I was going to attend that party instead of Caroline and Stefan. People would without doubt come up and ask me just who I was, and I was going to spend the entire evening explaining, that I was the planner's boyfriend's brother.

My plan about keeping in the shadows for the entire evening started to sound inviting. I would be able to keep an eye on Elena, and see her enjoy her evening, without actually talking to her. And this time I could leave her present on the table – she wasn't supposed to know who had given it to her. Hopefully she wouldn't even notice.

Apparently her parents had gone for a much more formal event this time. Caroline had told me to at least put on some fancy pants, instead of jeans. I had to do something about my willingness to do what she told me to. As soon as it had something to do with Elena, I was way too willing to do what she wanted me to, and that was _so _not me.

I shook my head, as I threw the bag carelessly onto the bed. I had a day before Elena's big party, and I was just sitting at home. Of course, normally I would be out, trying to find a midnight snack. But this time, Elena had to be in _my _bar. I couldn't go there. Richmond could be a choice, perhaps. But did I really want to drive away again, just to hook up with some slutty blonde?  
I almost shocked myself, as I discovered the answer was no. I would actually rather stay home, run a bath and relax with a glass of scotch, and sadly, a glass of blood. Blood-bags would have to do for now. I would have to find a new regular bar later. And this time it had to be far away. A place Elena and her friends wouldn't come visit. I couldn't have her seeing me flirt with another woma- okay, what the hell?  
Since when had I cared about people seeing my with women?! And since when had I cared about a fourteen year old _human _girl's opinion? This singer shit was starting to change me more than I liked.

I shook my head once again, starting to shred my clothes, as I neared the shower. Forget the bath, I needed a shower. Then I would need to get downstairs, and work on finishing off my stash of alcohol. I just had to make sure I was sober in the morning. No way I was going to Elena's birthday party drunk. That would be too embarrassing, and I would attract way too much attention. And I would probably get kicked out. I actually wanted to be there. But only for Elena.

* * *

And the next afternoon I was actually there. I was actually standing, in my 'fancy pants', button up black shirt and a blazer. I had actually followed Caroline's orders, and for the first time in my life, I was pretty happy I'd done as she had told me to. I wouldn't have fit in, if I had been wearing my usual leather jacket and jeans. Everyone here was dressed up, like me. The girls in short dresses (not short enough in my opinion) and the guys in button ups and blazers. Some of them had even put on a bowtie or a regular tie. I blended in perfectly, looking like yet another fancy rich man. Elena wouldn't even notice I was here. Thank God for her parent's visions about a big party to show off their perfect girl. If this had been like a normal teen girl's birthday party, I wouldn't have been able to hide.

Of course I'd chosen the bar as my getaway. I was making sure I was the only place she wasn't going to come looking. She was only fourteen, and she probably hadn't started drinking yet. Plus, her parents would probably throw a fit, if they saw she was getting drunk. Oh no, I was just the mysterious, good-looking stranger sitting in the bar, drinking stuff that was way too strong for all the young people.

The girls that would probably talk to me during the evening, would be much more grownup. And who knows, maybe I would take one home and have a little feast. I mean, as long as I made sure I didn't kill anyone, and erased their memory properly, that wouldn't be a problem. I would rock their world, they would forget, and I would get my fill. Oh well, maybe this party didn't suck as much as I had figured it would.

I had made sure Elena wasn't looking before I had placed my present on the table full of them, only a small note wishing her a happy birthday from a person she would probably never figure out who was.

As sentimental as I am, a part of the gift had been a new diary. I still had no idea whether she'd actually begun writing in the one I had given her back then, but I figured that if she had, she would probably have filled it out a couple of years back. A new one would do good.

Another part of my gift had been a collection of classic books. I would've given her the originals from the Salvatore library, but that would probably have been too much. So I had spent my money on buying her a collection of new copies instead.

Truth to be told, I had no idea whether she liked literature or not, and certainly not if she liked the classics at all. But I had went ahead and bought them for her anyway. If she didn't like them, I had made sure she could get a refund.

Now my gift was laying among the rest of them, not looking suspicious at all. I would've loved to give it to her personally, but I couldn't have her remember my face. I would be a part of her life later on, and it would be weird, if I hadn't changed. She would notice.

So, I stayed in the shadows, watching over the party. Elena looked incredible in her short blue dress. Her hair was up, showing off her face and neck. Normally, showing that much skin would make me hungry instantly, but this was Elena. I really didn't want to feed of her – that thought alone made me shiver.

The blonde girl that had just sat down besides me, however...

"You must be new to town. Haven't seen you around before." The girl smiled at me, small dimples appearing on her cheeks. I instantly saw through her act. Oh yes, she was surely going to act like the perfect southern belle, but she would probably be an animal, once I got her into my bed. Maybe she would even like to be bitten by me.

Maybe I should keep her, just for a couple of days. It had been a while, since I'd had a wild child in bed. And it was certainly time for a change. Plus, I would be here for a while now, and I'd already been way too much with Kelly – she wasn't going to be enough this time. This blonde girl, however, was young and would probably be more than just enthusiastic about getting into bed with me. Maybe being in Mystic Falls wouldn't suck just as much as I'd thought it would.

* * *

Turned out the blonde's name was Amber. And just as I had expected, she was an animal in bed. At first, she'd kept up the shy act. That had gone away in the exact moment I'd gone down on her, stopping just before she'd reached her height. Now she was asleep, her arm draped across my chest, and her hair being the biggest mess I'd ever seen. And that does say a lot.

Her home was just as southern as she was. Big as well. Still, I kept an ear out for her parents. Surely they would return soon enough, and I so wasn't having them busting us. I'd already made her forget about my bite, told her to not to tell anyone about us, and now was the time for my leaving. No way I was sleeping next to this girl. Sure, I would like to have her in a bed again. But I wasn't taking this any further than that. No way.

I carefully moved her arm, making sure she wasn't waking. If she did, we would probably go at it again, and she would be too exhausted to do anything besides sleep. No matter what, I would get out within an hour.

She didn't even flinch as I used my vamp speed to put on my clothes. Of course she didn't. Sometimes I'd forgotten just how heavy most teenage girls were – yes, she was a teenager. I couldn't bring myself to care _at all. _I'd been with teenage girls before. As long as nobody found out, I would be good.

* * *

I didn't even bother to leave a note, as I jumped out of the window, speeding to my car. I'd parked it a few blocks away, and carried a very drunk Amber the rest of the way to her house. No way I was having her parents come home and see my baby in the garage. Nope, I would rather carry the girl.

As I got in, I could feel the delicious aftertaste of her blood. She hadn't been bad – non smoker, no drugs, healthy person. I was lucky, really. It was rare to come across young people as clean as her. Kelly's blood hadn't been anywhere near satisfying. It tasted so much like nicotine and drugs that I'd gone to see another girl at some times. But Kelly did have spunk, and I'd actually grown to like the woman. She would've been friend material, but as always, I had to erase every single trace of me from her mind, which wasn't exactly the greatest foundation for a friendship.

* * *

Time just seemed to flew by, after her birthday party. I actually kept in touch with Amber – and screwed her more times than I cared to count. When we reached September, though, I erased her thoughts one last time – this time totally clear. I was focusing on Elena, now that she was officially starting high school. I'd never gone myself – I didn't exactly look like a seventeen year old, but I knew that it was a big thing. And I knew that now was when the problems started to come. I'd seen enough high school kids to know now was the time people started bullying each other – and no one was touching a hair on Elena's head. Not while I was there. I wanted her life to be as carefree as possible. That included the stuff normal teenagers went through.

Her first day of school went by just as smooth as her first day of elementary school had. She was, of course, sticking to the friends she'd known her whole life. That dark skinned girl, whose name I still hadn't caught, and Kelly's blond boy. Those three seemed to be together, every single time I saw them. Didn't they ever leave each other's sides?

Apparently not. Of course Elena didn't sleep with them each night. Actually, I still hadn't seen her have a sleep over including Matt. The dark skinned girl, though, had been in her room overnight more than just once. I'd actually had the decency to walk away when they'd been together. One thing was spying on Elena. Another was spying on her friend. Maybe I would've caught her name, if I'd stayed around.

I followed Elena around for the most of the school day – hidden in the shadows, of course. It seemed I had nothing to worry about, though. Half the students paid her no mind, and the rest absolutely loved her.

As did the teachers. Not that I should have been surprised... She's a special girl. But only I knew how special.

After her classes ended for the day, I made sure she got home safely, before kicking my own ass for being such a whipped pussy. I hated knowing that I cared enough to hang out at a boring high school all day, just to make sure she was safe. I really did. But what I hated even more, was knowing that tomorrow, I'd be up at the school, doing it all over again.

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**Soo, I really hope you liked that! Please leave me a review, telling me what you think. Reviews means the world to me, you know! ;) see you next time! **


	7. Chapter 6

**Short AN, because this is the fourth time I'm typing this (damn you, wi-fi) and I really hate repeating myself. I got over my writers block! *insert yay sound here*! Hope you like this!**

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**Chapter 6:**

I watched over Elena for the next month. Eventually I caught up on the dark skinned girl's name. Bonnie. Bonnie Bennett. The name made a bell ring, but I couldn't bring myself to care. I'd watched over her and her friends for a while now, and she was safe. Nothing else mattered, to be honest.

So, there I was, another normal day, watching over Elena in school. I had been kind of amazed that she hadn't seen me around at all. I mean, for Christ sake, I'd been following her around for the past month. But the girl was pretty oblivious to creepy stalkers, which made me happy I had decided to keep an eye on her. She would be way too easy to sneak up on.

"Are you trying out for the cheerleading squat?" Elena asked her dark skinned friend, as she shut her locker. As usual I was watching from afar, listening in on her conversations.

"Yeah, of course! Aren't you?" Bonnie raised her eyebrow at Elena and clutched her books a bit tighter to her body.

"I don't know... I mean, I've always wanted to be one of those girls. But what if I'm not good enough?" Elena said, biting her bottom lip. I raised my eyebrow slightly, trying not to stand out too much in the hallway.

"Oh, come on, Lena! You'll be fine. Let's just go for tryouts after school, and hope for the best! Can we go to class? I feel a bit... Strange."  
My other eyebrow followed the first one. She could feel my presence. That little witch was already aware that something was going on. Maybe I would have to investigate her name further. If she was a witch and a member of a founding family, I would have to know her ancestors. And one of them had to be a witch. What had her last name been again? Something with a B.

I would have to look that up later. Right now I needed to focus on the fact that the girls were headed for their last class of the day, before the cheerleader tryouts. Of course Elena wanted to be a cheerleader. Could it have anything to do with my weird obsession with cheerleader girls? Nah, it couldn't have. She would have to grow up to be her own person, not becoming my dream woman. That wasn't a part of the singer bond. It couldn't be.

As always, I stayed out of her classes, staying in the hallway, ready to make a move, if anything would happen. The chances of anything happening was slim to none, of course, since she was living in a small town, and had no enemies whatsoever. Actually, there really weren't any reason I should keep watching over her like a hawk. But I just couldn't let her be. It was downright impossible.

After the last class had I ended, I followed the girls out side, watching as they stood with the rest of the girls trying out. The football team was right behind them, the guys ogling the girls a bit too much for my liking. Oh well, Elena was only 14. She probably wasn't interested in boys yet. Girls wasn't interested in boys, at the age of 14, right?

God, I was so not fit for this.

I kept myself hidden under the bleachers, as I watched the tryouts. I was immediately surprised by Elena's flexibility. The cheerleaders would be crazy not to pick her. She would be perfect on the team.

What I really didn't like, though, was Kelly's son, ogling her from the football team. He wasn't taking his eyes off her, sending her smiles and winks from their practice. And the worst part about it was that she was actually returning those smiles. She was way too young to start a relationship! Had she no idea what was going through the mind of a 14 year old boy? Had she absolutely no idea that the only thing on his agenda was getting in her pants?! I definitely needed to watch that boy! He was not using _my _Elena for his dirty plans. She was way too good for that.

God, I needed a drink. But I couldn't just leave Elena alone with these boys. I needed to make sure she got home safely, before I could go home and drink myself into a stupor. I needed to drink myself into a stupor. It had been way too long.

"Elena! How are you getting home?" I raised my eyebrow, as I looked at Bonnie. She was running after Elena, who had started to move towards the parking lot.

"My mom's picking me up. Don't worry, Bonnie. I'll see you tomorrow."

The two girls hugged each other, before Elena walked the distance to the parking lot. I watched as she got in the car, and as they drove away. She would be okay. She was with her parents, not that boy. I had been worried she was going with him for a moment.

As soon as I had made sure, they had made it home, I went home and instantly found my stash in the library. Oh yeah, this was just perfect.

"Baby, I can't find my... Oh, it's you."

And, moment ruined. Why the hell did my brother's blonde terror have to ruin every single moment of peace? I quickly emptied my glass and took a swig from the bottle instead. I was obviously going to need it.

"Yeah, as if you hadn't noticed. My heart's beating, my brother's isn't. So, tell me again why you're choosing to come in and ruin my perfectly quiet time?" I asked, sitting down on one of the couches. Caroline sighed and sat down opposite of me, grabbing a bottle from the stash on her way.

"I actually expected to find Stefan down here. I don't usually listen after heartbeats. It's been ages since there's been anyone here besides us, and you're the only one with a beating heart. So, why are you drinking this time?" she asked, opening the bottle and taking a swig. I raised my eyebrow at her. Blondie was drinking? That was a new one.

"You should know that I drink when I want to. I don't need a special occasion," I said, rolling my eyes at her. She raised one eyebrow and gave me a look that told me she didn't believe me at all. Damn that woman.

"You wanna try that again?" she asked, leaning back in the couch and crossing her jeans covered legs. I sighed and looked away from her. I was telling her way too many things!

"Fine. If you must know. Elena had tryouts for the cheerleader squat today. And one of the boys ogled her a bit too much for my taste. She actually returned his looks, can you believe that?! I mean, is she purposely trying to get raped?!" I asked, standing up from the couch and taking a large swig from the bottle. I needed that. I was getting more frustrated by the second.

And what did Blondie do? She _laughed. _I felt like pinning her to the wall by her throat. Why the hell was she finding this funny?! How could she find this funny?!

"Damon, calm down. She just likes him! She's just 14 years old, and so is he. They aren't going to go out and have sex first thing. You don't have to worry so much," she said, taking another swig from the bottle in her hand. The amusement was still a bit too clear on her face for my liking. Just because she'd gone through all of this stuff, when she had been a small teenager, didn't mean I had complete knowledge about it.

"He's a boy, Caroline. I know what's going through his mind. It's sex, sex and sex. And I am not having him fumbling around with Elena, making her do stuff she's way too young to be doing!" I said, throwing the now empty bottle across the room. Caroline bit her lip, trying to keep her laughs in. I had to give her credit for trying.

"Don't worry, Damon. I'm sure Elena's way too smart to let him get in her pants. She's not thinking of that yet. They're 14 years old. Let them have their fun," she said, not even flinching as I banged my hand on the table. She was probably used to me being violent by now. Especially when it came to Elena.

"Not if that fun is going to leave Elena heartbroken, or pregnant or something! I am not letting it happen, Caroline!" I said, all of sudden being way too aware of the way my heart sped up. I sped out of the room, not even bothering to tell Caroline why I needed to go. It wasn't a major speed up in the heart rhythm, but it it was something, and I needed to check up on her. I needed to know she was okay.

* * *

It took me less than two minutes to reach the Gilbert house. That's fast, even for a vampire. I didn't even bother to take the car. Vampire speed would be faster, and I needed to make sure she was okay. As soon as I got there, I jumped into the tree outside her window, knowing she was in her room. I could feel her presence.

There she was, only clad in her PJ's, sitting on the bed, with her diary in her lap. Her bottom lip was trapped between her teeth, as she wrote away, gone from the world. Whatever she was writing, had something to do with the speed of her heartbeat. I wanted to go in and check it, but it would be too risky. She could see me, and then everything would be ruined. I didn't want to compel her, but she couldn't know of me yet.

So I got somewhat comfortable on the branch outside her window, and kept looking at her. Her body was still premature, next to no curves showing in her tanktop and shorts. Her long hair was up in a messy bun, a few strands escaping and hanging down her face.

I liked seeing her like that. She was totally lost in her writing, not even bothering to look up. Her hand was furiously writing ahead, not slowing down once.

She'd actually continued keeping a journal. My gift to her hadn't been a waste. She was clearly going to use a new journal soon. She was on the last pages of the one in her hand.

I smiled, knowing that I was the one who had started this. I had given her the first journal, the first she'd written in. And apparently she'd kept it up.

I have no idea for how long I sat there. I do know, however, that at some point she yawned and probably decided it was time for bed. The journal was hidden behind the big painting on her wall – clever girl, and then she got under the covers and turned off the lights. I felt like tucking her in. I actually felt like making sure she was going to sleep tight. Oh my God, what the hell was happening to me?

As soon as I felt our heartbeats slow down, I silently got into her room. It smelled like her. God, how it smelt like her. Some sort of mixture between strawberry, vanilla and... Her. Just her.

I stood next to her bed, smiling at the small girl before leaving a kiss on her forehead and quickly disappearing. The last times I'd touched her, she'd woken up. I couldn't have her actually see me. Not this time. No matter how much I just wanted to tell her everything and be with her every second of the day, I had to keep in the shadows.

* * *

Over the next few weeks I kept a good eye on that Matt boy. Him and Elena saw each other constantly, but he never made a move. He never did anything inappropriate, and always acted like a perfect gentleman to her.

The only problem was that I didn't miss the blush in her cheeks when he accidentally touched her. I didn't miss the way she looked at him.

Sure, it was just a high school crush, nothing big, but she had absolutely no idea what was going through that boy's mind. I vaguely remembered being 14 years old. I'd lost my virginity at 14, even though it was highly inappropriate back then. Truth to be told, I really hadn't cared at all. I'd met this beautiful older woman at the library, and for some reason I'd gone with her home.

My dear father had hit me and locked me in my room for three days after that. I hadn't been allowed anything else than water and a small bit of bread during those three days.

I'd been with that woman more than once during my teen years. She'd been crazy and wild, and she'd taught me a lot of things. Call her my mentor if you like.

I was 18 when she disappeared. I still had no idea what had happened to her. I just know that one day she had left town, without as much as a goodbye. I hadn't exactly been heartbroken – she had become a good friend, but I'd never had any feelings for her at all.

Sometimes I still thought about her. Her name had been Isabel. I'd never caught onto her last name, but I knew she was a widow. Some people around town had told tales about her killing her own husband, but I'd never really believed in those. Actually, I'd never really bothered to care about it.

Oh yes, I still remembered being 14 years old.

I was clad in my normal boots, dark jeans and leather jacket. It was incredibly easy to blend in with all the drunk high school students. The only ones standing out were the football players and the cheerleaders in their red and white uniforms.

Yes, I was actually here, the night before a football game, witnessing the coach trying to pep everyone up and the students getting drunk as hell. And why was I here? Because Elena was cheering. And because she could get hurt. The seniors were here as well, and she would be an easy target. I had to protect her.

She looked cute in her cheerleader uniform. I didn't like how much of her body it showed, but it reminded me that she was still a little girl. It wasn't too tight, like the older girl's, and it looked somewhat near decent.

The blond boy hadn't been able to keep his eyes off her all night. I noticed he wasn't drinking and that he actually acted responsible, comparing to the other football players. He wasn't being violent, and he wasn't getting too close to the cheerleaders. Maybe he wasn't the worst person in the world, if Elena _had _to have a crush on someone.

I couldn't help smiling as Elena was cheering. It was clear that she loved it, and she was good at it. Really good, actually.

The night was pretty normal, until I noticed Elena going away, her arm linked around Matt's. Where were they going? I followed them, hidden in the shadows, watching as they made their way to the bleachers. What the hell were they doing?!

"You're really good at cheering, you know that, right?" Matt said, smiling at Elena, as they sat down on the bleachers. The stadium wasn't lit up, leaving them with only the light from the stars and the half moon in the skies. A bit too romantic for my liking, but I couldn't interfere. I wanted to know exactly what was going on. If he started overstepping her boundaries, I was going to make some noise or compel someone to find them. But for now I would just sit back and watch them.

"Thanks... I like it. It's fun. I'm glad I made it to the team," she answered, leaning back against the bleachers behind her. She looked relaxed. She obviously trusted this boy. And I was actually forced to give him a chance. Elena obviously wanted him in her life, so I couldn't just compel him to leave town. Not if she actually liked talking to him.

"Of course you did, Lena. Come on, they'd been idiots if they hadn't taken you in!" he said, smiling at her. He was nervous. It was obvious, the way he was playing with his fingers and shifting constantly. Why the hell was he nervous? What did he have in mind?  
"Thanks, Matt. And you made it on the football team! No surprise really," she said, smiling at him. Her eyes were sparkling and for some reason, I really wished I was the guy sitting there and talking to her. But no, I had to keep myself hidden underneath the bleachers, looking at them. Looking over Elena. Because that was what I existed for.

"Yeah, guess so... Listen, Lena, there's something I really want to talk to you about..." I moved closer, ready to make a move if necessary. What could the boy have to say to her? Okay, maybe I knew exactly what he was going to say, but I so wasn't going to think about it, if he wasn't doing anything like that.

"Sure... What's up? You seem nervous?" she said, reaching forward and taking his hand in hers. His looked so incredibly big compared to her small one. I couldn't help but remember the first time her little hand had been wrapped around my finger. Back when she had only been a small baby. But here she was, sitting with a boy in her cheerleader outfit. Time went too fast for my liking.

"Uhm... God, I have no idea how to say this... We've known each other for some time now and... Well, I just... I like you, Lena. I like you a lot," he said, looking up at her with nervous eyes. She smiled at him and started rubbing soothing circles on his hand. She didn't say anything. She just waited on him to go on.

"I just... Would you like to go on a date with me?"

I couldn't help but roll my eyes at him. That was so not how you asked a girl out. But somehow, it seemed to work on Elena. Her face lit up with a enormous smile, as she nodded at him.

"Of course! I would love to!" she answered, blushing a bit at him, as he let out a relieved sigh. Well, she did seem to like him. And as of right now, he treated her well. I would have to accept this for the time being. And I would have to get used to her being in a fucking relationship. Wasn't she way too young for that kind of stuff? Wasn't that something she was supposed to wait until she was like... 20, or something? I mean, she was a good girl. She wasn't like the girls I usually went home with. Elena was a good girl. Not one of those girls who went home with a complete stranger after a night of drinking.

"So, I'll pick you up this Friday? Say, 6 pm?" Matt asked, pulling her a bit closer. I didn't like it, at all. He couldn't just take liberties with her, just because she'd agreed to go on a date with him. He needed to step back a bit, and let this take it's time.

"Sounds good... Have you been drinking?" she asked. Even I made a surprised face at the comment. Why the hell did she need to ask if he'd been drinking? Did she find his request so weird that he needed to be drunk to ask her?

"Uhm, no... I haven't touched anything," he said, obviously just as surprised as I was. Where was she going with this?  
"Would you mind walking me home? I don't really feel like walking alone..." she asked, looking at him with a pair of puppy eyes. I would be damned if anyone would be able to resist those. If he didn't want to walk her home, I would!

"Sure... You wanna go now?" he asked, obviously relieved. I understood him. She nodded and stood up from the benches. I didn't miss the way his hand sneaked it's way into hers. I already felt like breaking the kid's neck.

* * *

I followed them all the way to Elena's house. I would be damned if I let them go home by themselves. I was keeping an eye on them, checking that he didn't take her to some abandoned warehouse or something. I knew the type, and even though I knew Matt wasn't one of those guys, I couldn't help but want to protect Elena.

Our hearts were beating way too fast for my liking, but there was nothing to do about it. She liked him, and her body reacted the way it did.

They reached her house, him following her. I stayed hidden as he walked her to the door.

"Thanks for walking with me, Matt," she said, reaching up and placing a single kiss on his cheek, "I'll see you tomorrow."

And with that comment, she disappeared behind the door, leaving Matt to stand outside, completely baffled, with his hand against his cheek, where her lips had touched his skin.

After standing there for a full minute, he walked back to the pavement, and walked home. Thank God for that.

I quickly made my way to the now familiar tree in her backyard, and climbed it as fast as possible. I kept myself hidden amongst the leaves, watching her as she threw herself on the bed and started giggling. I rolled my eyes, but couldn't help but smile at her happiness. That was what was important. Her happiness. And if that Matt boy made him happy, I would let him see her. But only when he made her happy.

Her happiness came before everything else in my world.

**There you are! Thank you guys for 107 reviews! I will see you next time! Please leave a review! Would make my day!... Or, night, really. **


	8. Chapter 7

**It's update time! So, here's chapter 7. I know you all just wanna jump ahead to where Delena finally meets officially, but I wanna do a proper build-up - if you've read some of my other stuff, you know I love a good build-up. So, I give you here chapter 7! **

**See you at the bottom!**

* * *

**Chapter 7:**

I continued to watch Elena and Matt during the week. They didn't do anything couple-y in the school time. They didn't even hold hands. But Friday came a bit too soon for my liking. A part of me really didn't want to keep watching over her, when she went on the date. I felt more like staying at home, but knew I couldn't. I couldn't trust him to keep her safe.

No, I had to be there.

So, when Friday came, I made sure I was close to Elena all day. She didn't spend any time with Matt in school, that day. She was with the dark skinned witch all the time.

"What should I wear? I mean, I have no idea where he's taking me! What if I show up in a dress, and he's all casual? Or, what if I'm all casual and he's in a suit!"  
I raised my eyebrow at Elena's distress. Was that seriously what she was nervous about? Dressing properly? Her heart was speeding as she talked, and Bonnie almost laughed at her. It wasn't funny, God damnit! Couldn't she just help her?

"Wear a skirt or something. Then you're not too formal and not too casual. It's perfect," Bonnie said, shrugging and putting her hand on Elena's hand. They were sitting at one of the outdoor tables, enjoying the sun shining down on them.

"Oh, that's a good idea! I hope he'll like it..." Elena said, blushing a bit, while her heart slowed down. Good girl, don't get a heart attack.

"Now, what are you going to do if he tries to kiss you?" Bonnie asked, a sly smile on her lips. I rolled my eyes once again and got more comfortable in the tree I was in. At least now I would know what to expect from that date. Did I mention I really don't want to be there?

"I think I'm going to let him. I mean, that's not too fast, is it? It's only our first date."  
I stifled a laugh, thinking about the girls I'd brought home. No, a kiss on first date wasn't too fast. Not at all, actually. God, why did she worry so much? Couldn't she just go on the damn date, and do whatever she wanted to? It was not like she needed to please that boy.

"Elena, you and Matt have known each other since you were born! Frankly, the whole school is rooting for you two. I mean, the cheerleader and the football player. I _so _see you two grow old together and have kids and all that," Bonnie said, smiling at Elena. Wow, no pressure,Sabrina, no pressure!

I almost felt bad for Elena at that moment. Truth was, she was never going to grow old. She was probably never going to have kids either. She would either die or turn at the age of 24. She would never be able to have a long term relationship with a human. Not without turning him. And that would still mean no kids.

I felt like hitting something, or someone. Why did she of all persons have to have this curse? Why was she the one, destined to never live a full life, of all people? She deserved it! She was the one human on this planet, that actually deserved to live a full life. And of course, she couldn't. Her of all people.

I shook my head and focused on their conversation again. They were going on and on about the date and what would happen. Jesus, couldn't they talk about something else? Anything! I felt bad enough already. If I hadn't been turned by Katherine back in the days, Elena wouldn't have to die. If that bitch hadn't...

No, I couldn't think of that now. The past was in the past, and there was nothing to do about it. Even if I killed myself, Elena would still be a Singer. She would still die at the age of 24, and I couldn't let that happen. If she wanted to live, I would turn her. I would do anything for her.

The realization struck me harder than a ton of bricks. I would do anything for her. This little human girl. I would actually do anything she would ever ask me to. A _human _girl.

I needed a drink, and fast. But I couldn't leave Elena's side. I just couldn't. This would be an important day for her, and I needed to be there. I needed to make sure everything would be going alright between the two of them, and I needed to make sure she returned home safely. I needed to watch over her, 'cause whether she knew or not, she was mine. My Singer.

I sat outside Elena's window, in the tree, as she got ready. She didn't put on the skirt Bonnie had advised her to. Instead, she put on a pair of skinny jeans and a top. She looked good. That boy better praise his lucky stars. I made sure I was hidden completely by the leaves on the tree, as I saw Miranda enter the room.

"Are you ready for tonight?" she asked, as she sat down on the bed. Elena turned around and looked at her, her bottom lip caught between her teeth.

"I think so... Do I look okay? Do you think Matt will like this outfit?" she asked, turning slowly. Miranda smiled at her daughter, the love clear in her eyes.

"I think that Matt will like whatever you turn up in. You look great, honey." Miranda stood up from the bed and walked to stand next to her daughter, in front of the mirror. I was starting to actually see the resemblance between the two of them. They had the same brown eyes, and Elena's head was starting to have the same shape as her mothers. Their hair now had the exact same color, even though Elena's were much longer than her mother's.

Elena truly was Miranda's daughter. And she looked happy, standing there next to her mother, preparing for her first date. Happy and way too nervous. How on earth could she be nervous about going out with a boy like Matt? I mean, they'd been friends forever, and they probably wouldn't go any further. I hoped for his sake they didn't go any further. I wasn't sure I was going to live seeing him touching her and stuff like that. Actually, I wasn't sure I was going to let him live to do that. He shouldn't touch her like that.

"What if he doesn't like me like that? What if I got the whole thing wrong, and he just wants to have dinner... You know, as friends?" Elena looked at her mom, her big brown eyes filled with concern. I couldn't help but smile at her. She was so little and innocent. Did she really believe his "I like you a lot" speech was meant as friends? Of course not. He clearly wanted to be much more than her friend. How could she be so oblivious to that fact?

"Honey, Matt's been in love with you for years. It's been clear for everyone but you. Now, don't think anymore of that! You two will have a wonderful evening together," Miranda said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, as she smiled at her daughter. Elena bit her bottom lip, looking up at her mom with worried eyes. I felt my face soften at her expression. She was still just an innocent child. Was she really old enough to go out on a date? I had to follow her closely. I wasn't going to leave her alone with that boy for one single second.

The two of them talked for a little bit longer, this time just about boys, while Miranda helped Elena get ready. To me, she already looked pretty good, but of course she wanted to look special, when meeting up with the quarterback. Couldn't she see she could do such much better than the blonde douche? And most importantly, couldn't she see she could wait a lot of years before start dating? She was still just a small human girl, for Christ's sake!

When I saw the boy in question come walking down the streets, wearing a button up shirt and jeans, I had to contain myself. I felt like jumping down there and compel him to take good care of her, and to never touch her inappropriately, but that would be interfering. I'd promised I wouldn't interfere with Elena's life. Only if her life was in danger, and it wasn't. She was perfectly safe, for now. The boy didn't look like a serial killer, after all. And if he were, I'd kill him, before he'd as much as touch a hair on her head. I wouldn't let any kind of harm come her way.

Kelly's boy made his way to the door, and nervously smoothed his hair down, before ringing the bell and stepping back. I could hear his heartbeat from the tree. That kid was more nervous than she was!

Elena turned to her mother, inside her room, looking at her with a frightened look. Miranda just smiled back and placed a kiss on her forehead.

"Go down to him, honey. Have a nice evening out," she said, smiling at her only daughter, and watching as she made her way down to the front door.

When she opened the door, her face was slightly pink from her blushing. He smiled at her, no doubt giving her his most innocent eyes. Oldest trick in the book.

"You look beautiful, Elena," he said, looking up and down her body. I rolled my eyes at him and moved a bit closer, wanting to be there in case Elena needed me.

She blushed even more, looking down and whispering a thank you, before stepping outside.

"Be back by 11, kids!" Grayson said, as the couple started making their way to the pavement. 11! Couldn't it be 10?! He better see her home properly!

"I'll make sure of it, Mr. Gilbert!" Matt said, waving to Elena's parents, as they made their way down the road.

I followed them in the shadows, keeping my eye at Elena the whole time. For now, everything looked pretty innocent. He wasn't touching her, and they were talking about school. He was obviously taking her to The Grill, which I could accept – I would linger around the bar, keeping an eye on them and drinking myself into a stupor at the same time. God knows I would need the alcohol tonight.

"How's football practice going?" Elena asked, fidgeting with her fingers in front of her body. She was obviously nervous, and pretty uncomfortable. It was the first time she was with Matt as more than friends – it would be weird if she wasn't nervous.

I wish I could make her see me, and tell her that she had absolutely nothing to be afraid of. That she should just relax, because I was there, and I was going to take care of her. But no. And she probably wasn't scared of Matt. Sure, her heart-rate was a bit higher than normally, but it wasn't fear. Fear was different – no, she was just nervous.

"The usual, you know. Tanner's taking his personal problems out on us as usual," Matt said, shrugging at her.

"Again? Have you guys thought about reporting it?" Elena looked up at him, suddenly forgetting to fidge with her fingers. Great, they were falling into normal conversation.

"No. We figured he didn't need an extra problem. He's like this sometimes, Lena, I don't know if it'll ever change. He just has these periods."

The conversation went on about school, as I followed them to The Grill. They at down in one of the booths, giving me a perfect view of them from the bar. Ordering my usual bourbon, I tuned in on their conversation, trying to find out what they were talking about.

Nothing.

Absolutely nothing.

I looked at them, noticing that they were looking at their menu's, Elena's cheeks still flushed. At that moment, I really wish I had the ability to read minds. I really wanted to know what Elena was thinking, as she sat across the blond guy. I didn't need access to his brain, to know exactly what he was thinking about. I mean, Elena was good looking for a fourteen year old. She wasn't unlucky, like some fourteen year olds. And no doubt he was thinking about how great she would look without her clothes on.

A shame he wasn't going to see that sight. I wasn't going to let him, no matter what happened. I was here for her protection, not just against life threatening dangers, but also horny teenage boys.

"Whiskey for me, and bourbon for him." I looked to my side at the guy who'd sat down next to me. Before I'd turned my head, I'd felt his presence – he wasn't human. I instantly recognized him, though.

"Alaric Saltzman. Long time, no see," I said, accepting the bourbon from the bartender. Alaric smiled at me and sipped his whiskey. For some reason, he'd always preferred that over bourbon. Some people are just weird like that.

"Indeed, Salvatore. This is the last place on earth I figured you'd be. Care to tell me what the hell you're doing back here?" he asked, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. I carefully made sure I wasn't looking anywhere near Elena when I shrugged and downed the bourbon. I was in great need for alcohol tonight.

"Nostalgia, I guess. Seeing my baby bro again and such," I said casually, turning to him with my signature smile, "the ladies."

He raised an eyebrow at me and drank from his whiskey. I've never really liked whiskey. Sure, it did the trick, but bourbon just tasted so much better.

"You do know I don't believe that, right?" he said, looking at me with a smile. I just smirked back and ordered another bourbon. The bartender let the bottle stand in front of me, probably figuring out I'd need it.

"What about yourself? Haven't seen you here in a long time," I said, wondering just what the hell he was doing here. We'd been drinking here a couple of decades ago, enjoying the women and stuff, but we'd disappeared as soon as the town had started noticing us. I'd kept away ever since then, until the whole Singer thing started. Now I was forced to stay here and keep an eye on little Miss Gilbert.

Speaking of her, I casually looked in her direction, relieved to see them sitting and talking, keeping away from each other and eating their food. So far, so good. If he kept his hands to himself there wouldn't be much need for me tonight.

"Oh, you know. Needed to go somewhere and decided to come back here. The world's starting to get kind of boring," he said, emptying the whiskey. I chuckled at him and took a swig from the bottle.

Alaric had been turned around the end of the 19th century, and we'd done a lot of traveling together, before we'd decided to split up. Apparently he'd been doing a lot of traveling since then, if he'd already started to find the world boring. He'd always been one for looking at old places, seeing new stuff and experiencing a lot.

"Aha. And you chose Mystic Falls of all places to go back to?" I said, raising an eyebrow at him, clearly catching onto his lie. There were probably a better reason for his return to Mystic Falls, but I wasn't exactly being honest with him either.

He shrugged at me, ordering another whiskey and quickly drinking it.

* * *

Conversation came pretty easy after that. We quickly fell into our old habits, talking about what we'd been doing for the past century and exchanging stories. I hadn't really realized just how much I'd missed him, until we started speaking again.

I have no idea for how long we'd been talking, when I felt Elena's heartbeat sped up. I quickly shot a look around The Grill, but the couple were no where to be found.

"Listen, Ric, it's been nice to catch up, but I really have got to go. See you around, okay?" I said, not bothering to wait for his answer. I left a couple of bills on the counter before rushing out of the bar, tracking down Elena and Matt.

Turned out they were walking home alone. He was getting closer to her as they walked, and she kept her eyes on the ground, making quiet conversation with him. She was obviously nervous. They were nearing the part of a date, where he would either kiss her or not – and of course she was nervous about that.

I kept on following them, making sure I stayed far enough behind them. His hand were getting closer to hers, and within long, they were entwined and he was pulling her closer to him.

I fought my hardest not to jump down there and push him away from her. I had to remind myself that he wasn't doing anything inappropriate. They were the same age and he was merely holding her hand. For now, he wasn't doing anything wrong. He just wasn't good enough for her. Not even close, actually.

As they made their way down the pavement, I couldn't help but try to figure out what had made Ric come back. We'd been the best of friends back then, but eventually we'd split up. And now he was back. He'd never really liked this city, when we'd visited it. I'd showed him, because it had become a home for me and Stefan, but he'd never fallen in love with it, the same way Stefan and I had done back then. And honestly, the city had lost some of it's charm when Stefan had found the connection between the evil slut vampire and the city. But now I was back and the city suddenly had a completely new reason for being great. Elena was here.

But that was no reason for Ric to return. I'd never told him about the whole Singer thing. I probably should have, since he was a vampire and could end up with a Singer, but I'd always seen it as nonsense. And now I was in this crappy situation, that I'd actually come to love. Crap.

"It's been a good night..."

My attention turned to Matt and Elena again, when I heard him say that. We'd arrived back at the Gilbert house, and they were standing at the porch now, fingers still entwined. I so didn't want to see this part of their date, but I had to keep an eye on him, and be ready to step in if he went overboard.

"It's been fantastic... I've really enjoyed being out with you," Elena said, looking at him with red cheeks. I rolled my eyes and kept the sarcastic comments down, as Matt stepped closer to her.

"Me too. I'd love to do it again some time," he said, slowly lowering his head to hers. She didn't pull away from him, but allowed him to press his lips to hers in a soft kiss.

Her first kiss.

I was actually witnessing her getting her first kiss. And from a douche like him!

I really wanted to tear my gaze away from them, but I couldn't. His arms went around her back, and she grabbed the folds of his jacket. I rolled my eyes at them and waited impatiently for them to break apart.

When they finally did, she looked flushed, but happy. I tried not to notice just how much our hearts were speeding. I so didn't need to feel that. This was bad enough.

"So, I guess I'll see you in school?" he said, sounding way too out of breath for a simple kiss. At least he hadn't tried to push her further than a kiss. For that, I was pretty grateful. I didn't want to jump in and push him away, and then have to erase both his and Elena's memories. I didn't want to compel Elena if I didn't have to.

But on the other hand, I couldn't be a part of her life, before she turned 24. Then I'd have to step in, tell her about the Singer thing and ask her to make her choice. Die or be damned for an eternity. And she would probably choose to die, and I'd have to watch her die. I wouldn't be able to keep away from her, even though it would be torture, sitting next to her and watch her take her last breath.

I had no idea how humans died, if they chose not to turn. I'd never seen it before, and I wasn't sure I wanted to know. Nobody had really been there to tell me everything about the myth, but something told me I'd see it one day. Surely Elena wouldn't want to become a vampire.

I'd watched her for a long time now, and I could see just how much she loved living. She was so full of life, and she tried to make the best of every day.

She would hate being a vampire. It would suffocate her, having to be a slave of her urges and to never grow old.

I should probably start preparing myself to lose her when she turned 24, and that would have to be okay. I would have to be okay with her choice.

I shook myself out of my thoughts and climbed into the tree outside of her window. It was closed now, and she was sitting on the bed with Miranda, without a doubt talking about her night. I whispered a goodnight to her, and then left her house, returning to the boarding house and my bed. I needed another drink.

* * *

It took me two months to pack my stuff, and then I was on my way again. I'd seen her at her first high school dance, where she and Matt had been crowned as king and queen, I'd seen her first cheer, I'd seen all of the stuff she'd done. The thought of her dying was scaring me. Maybe I should just leave and let her live until she turned 24. She would die, in whatever way the singer bond wanted her to die and some day, my heart would stop beating. Maybe that would be the best way.

Either way, I kissed her on the forehead, while she was sleeping, and told her a quiet goodbye. I wasn't sure if I was going to see her again, and if I did, she might be dying. I couldn't let her out of my mind, on the way to the airport. I'd changed over the past 14 years, more than I'd done since I was turned. She was changing me. And honestly, I wasn't sure if it was for the better.

* * *

**So, there you have it! Please leave a review! It would mean the world to me, and you know it! Can't believe the amount of reviews I've recieved for this, it's amazing. I am sooo glad you like it! Thank you guys!**


	9. Chapter 8

**Yeah, I've been away for far longer than what good is. But here you have chapter 8, and I so hope you like it! I'll see you at the bottom!**

* * *

**Chapter 8:**

_-2 years later_

Okay, you can say it, I'm lousy at staying away. This time, I have absolutely no idea what made me come back. I'd been going down on some redhead in Amsterdam, when I suddenly had felt compelled (no pun intended) to return to Mystic Falls. And for the first time since I was turned, I followed my instinct and hurried to the nearest airport. 9 hours later, I was back in Mystic Falls, driving back to the boarding house. My heart had been normal the past two years. Sure, it had sped up a couple of times, but never in fear.

And still, as soon as I'd felt like going back, I'd done it. I hadn't even fought the urge to return. I'd just compelled myself to a plane ticket and here I was.

I'd wondered about it all the way and decided to check up on Elena. Bad feelings had to be connected to her. Maybe she needed me, without even knowing. I made the decision and turned down the road to her house. I'd probably see her in her bed, sleeping and then I could return home, feeling good again.

I parked a couple of corners away and walked the last distance to her house and climbed the tree outside her window with ease.

The sight didn't calm me down at all. The house was completely dark, and she wasn't in her bed. Actually, her bed was made and looked like she hadn't slept in it for some time. If she wasn't here, where could she be?  
She better not be sleeping over with that Donovan boy. That had been two years ago, they couldn't still be together! He wasn't good enough for her!

Looking over the rest of the house, I noticed none of the family members were at home. All beds were made, and the entire house was quiet. No heartbeats.

Making a quick decision, I sped back to my car and drove towards Kelly's house. I really didn't want to see Elena in Matt's bed, but at least then I would know where she was.

This time, I didn't bother parking streets away, and I sped the short distance to the house. I got in, without a sound, and quickly searched the house. Matt was in his bed, alone, sleeping soundly. His room had changed a lot over the time, and I didn't miss the pictures of him and Elena. I would have to look at those later. Right now, I needed to find Elena.

Kelly was in her bed as well, but not alone. She was with some guy, a lot younger than her, but still older than I had been, when I was turned. They were both sleeping right now, her head on his chest, and one of his arms lazily draped over her sleeping frame. I smirked a bit at her, remembering the times I spent with her back then.

She'd been great company, and to be honest, I'd been sad to see her memories go. Maybe one day, I could let her have some altered memories, and maybe we'd be able to be friends. I didn't mind befriending a human, as long as she didn't expose me. And she really was a great drinking partner.

I left her room again, going down to my car and started driving around. Where could she be? Sleeping over with the witch girl, perhaps?

I started making my way to her house, when I felt my heart speed up. And this time, it wasn't excitement. Elena was scared, frightened for her life, and she needed me.

Knowing it would be so much faster to run, I sped out of my car, ignoring the freezing November weather, trying to track her down with my mind. I hadn't done that since seeing her in the hospital all those years ago, and I silently cursed myself for not practicing the ability. I sped around town, focusing solemnly on finding her, but it wasn't as easy as it had been back then. Perhaps it was because this was a larger area than the small town hospital.

It felt like an eternity, but at last I tracked her down. Just outside town, by Wickery Bridge.

* * *

I've never moved that fast before. It took me less than a minute to reach the bridge, and I instantly found out what was wrong. A big chunk of the bridge was missing and I could see the top of a car in the water. Her parents must have driven over the bridge, and they were probably dead now. But Elena was still alive. Her heart was still beating.

Without thinking, I jumped in and swam to the back door. Right there, was Elena. My entire world suddenly went in slow motion, as I looked at her still frame. Her mouth was firmly closed, and she was on the edge to losing consciousness. I didn't even have to look at her parents or her brother, to know they were dead. The only heartbeat I could hear was hers, and I could feel it. She was so afraid, so very much afraid.

It sped up even more, as she felt the loss of oxygen. She would pass out soon, and then the water would be going down in her lungs. She would die, if I didn't do something.

The thought of her dying, brought me to action. I quickly ripped the door off and got her seat belt off. She was drifting between being conscious and passing out, but she was still alive. Pulling her into my arms, I got her out of the sinking car and swam towards the surface. This was the first time I had her in my arms like this, since she was a baby. I forced myself to not look at her, and focus on getting her to the surface.

As soon as the cold air hit us, I realized I couldn't just stay here. She'd get sick and probably feel even worse. She had a small cut on her forehead, but I didn't feel hungry. Her blood actually didn't appeal to me at all. Her safety did, however.

I swam to the lakeside, pulling her from the water and lifting her into my arms with ease. I heard sirens in the distance, knowing that the place would be filled with cops and ambulances within long. I should probably let Elena stay here, letting her go to a hospital and get the message that her entire family was dead. If I just took her home, people would start asking questions.

"Oh my God, Dave, get over here! He pulled out someone! She's alive!" I vaguely heard a woman scream for her husband, as I made my way onto the bridge again, trying to figure out how to keep Elena warm. I kept her in my arms, tightly pressed to my chest, as I jumped onto the pavement. She'd lost consciousness, laying completely still in my arms.

"Did you call anyone? She needs warmth, right now!" I said, trying to warm up her freezing limbs. It was obvious from her clear breath that she didn't have any water in her lungs, and her heartbeat was fast, but steady. She didn't need CPR, just warmth. I didn't even notice the way the freezing cold were biting my own skin. Maybe because I wasn't as affected by it, as Elena was.

I shrugged off my leather jacket, draping it over her body, and hoped it would provide some sort of warmth to her. I knew it must look weird – I was in jeans and a t-shirt, giving her my jacket, but honestly, I couldn't bring myself to care. This was about saving her life, not about me freezing.

"How about yourself?! You must be freezing to death!"  
"She needs warmth! Right now! Do you guys have blankets or something? Anything!" I said, getting desperate, as I felt her body temperature fall. My jacket was wet, and it probably wasn't producing as much warmth as I hoped for.

"We have some in the car... I'll go and get them... Are you sure she's alive?" the guy asked, looking at Elena with doubt in his eyes.

"Of course she's alive, are you stupid?! Go get those blankets! Now!"

If it hadn't been because of Elena's freezing body in my arms, I would've ripped his fucking head off. How hard could it be, finding a simple blanket, to freaking save her life?!

The couple returned with two woolen blankets, which I instantly wrapped Elena's small, fragile body in. Her heart was slowing down, but she wasn't in danger yet. If she was nearing any serious danger, I would feed her my blood, but for now, I had to let the car accident survivor thing go it's own way. I didn't want to compel every single person involved.

* * *

The sirens came closer, as I tried heating up her body. As she lay there, her body limp in my arms, I started seeing to the cut on her forehead. I forced myself to not look at her features, knowing she would've aged a lot since she was fourteen. Yeah, it had only been two years, but she'd gone from child to woman, and I couldn't afford being distracted by her now.

I let out a breath of relief, upon inspecting her forehead. The cut was deep, but it wasn't life threatning. It would probably need stitches, and she would probably get a scar, but she would be fine. If she wanted the scar gone, I would heal it for her in time. If not, I would let it be. It would be entirely her choice. Right now, I just wanted her to be okay again.

* * *

After the ambulance arrived, everything happened quickly. Elena was pulled into the back of it, and as the only person who knew who she was, I followed. Police cars were starting to arrive, talking fast over a radio about getting someone out there to pull out the car from the water. They wouldn't like what they found. But honestly, I couldn't bring myself to watch them work. I kept my eyes on Elena, as the paramedics started examining her, coming to the conclusion that she needed stitches on the forehead. I could've told them that.

As we drove, I let myself get a look at her. She'd changed a lot since I'd last seen her. Her face was fuller, somehow, more grown-up. Her lashes were long, and she had obviously worn make-up, 'cause it was smeared around her eyes now. Her skin looked incredibly soft, but way too cold from the water. She hadn't been under for long, but she'd been wet while we waited for the ambulance. I felt like warming up her entire body, but I would have to let the paramedics do their work. I couldn't do anything else than watch her, and pray those silly humans knew what the hell they were doing.

Fortunately, Elena's body was covered by the blankets, which meant I wasn't able to see the way her curves had aged. Hell, last time I'd seen her, she'd been a little girl. She was well on her way to being a woman now, and she was beautiful.

"What's your name, son?" one of the paramedics asked me. He looked a lot older than I did, but I couldn't help but feel pissed at the 'son'. If only he knew I had more than 200 years on him.

"Damon Salvatore," I said, trying to sound as authoritative as possible. Maybe he'd gain some respect that way. The paramedic looked back at Elena for a second, before turning to me again, and continuing.

"She'll be fine. She needs stitching up, and she'll probably have a cold, but she'll be okay. You can go into the emergency room when we arrive, but they'll probably throw you out, and say you'll have to wait outside. She shouldn't be too long."

I looked over his shoulder at Elena's form, and then nodded at him. He didn't need to know that I wasn't going to leave her side, even if I would have to compel every single person in the emergency room.  
"You seem like you know her. May I ask what relationship you have to her?" he asked, as I stood up and fought the urge to take her in my arms. She looked way too small and fragile.

"I'm an old friend of the family. I've known her since she was a child," I said, unable to take my eyes from her. The lie had come out easily, and would probably come in handy later on. She would need a guardian, and with a little compulsion, they would choose me, and not her aunt. I would get to know her, and maybe, when the choice came, she would actually chose to become like me. I wouldn't wish it upon her, but... I couldn't watch her die. I just couldn't. Tonight had been close, and I never wanted to go through that again. I had no idea how she would die, if she chose to, but I knew it wouldn't be pleasant.

"That sounds nice. Are you close?" he asked, sitting down next to me. I ripped my gaze from Elena and forced myself to get my shit together.

"Not really. I mean, we've been to parties and such, but we've never really been friends," I said, trying to sound as realistic as possible. She wouldn't recognize me completely, when she woke up. If I wanted to have a shot at being her guardian, I would have to come up with a realistic story.

"I'm sorry about your loss. The firemen mentioned three bodies in the car. It's a miracle you were able to save the girl," he said, nodding towards Elena. I lowered my head and fought the urge to stroke her cheek.

"Her parents and her little brother. It's horrible. They were dead when I reached her. She was the only one alive," I said, remembering how she'd floated just a bit off her seat, almost being unconscious. The picture made me shutter, and I looked down at her still frame again, just to be sure she was actually there. As if my beating heart couldn't confirm that. It was a lot slower than it had been earlier, but it was my guarantee that she was still alive.

"She's probably going to go through a rough time," the paramedic said, looking at her. I shook my head and stood closer to her. Carefully I let my finger stroke her cheek, feeling the soft skin underneath my fingertips.

"She'll survive. I'll take care of her," I said, not caring at all what he was thinking.

* * *

When we reached the hospital, Elena was taken to the emergency room, and I followed, keeping my distance, and letting the doctors work. She didn't need much. They stitched her forehead and made sure she was getting warmer, before taking her to a private room, where I was left alone with her.

I sat down on the chair next to her bed, looking at her. She was still unconscious, but I knew it wouldn't be too long before she woke up. She would be good.

"Mr. Salvatore?"

I turned my head at the sound of my name, and eyed up the two persons making their way into my room. One was a blonde woman, dressed in a sheriff's uniform and a soft look on her face. Another was a man, dressed in a suit with a briefcase in his hands.

"That's me," I said, standing up from the chair. I had to remember I looked younger than those people, and that I would have to pretend to have respect.

Humans.

"We're so very sorry about your loss," the blonde woman said, shaking my hand. I nodded, not wanting to start a conversation.

"It has come to our attention that you know the young woman, and we were wondering if you could tell us if she has any relatives," she continued.

"She does have an aunt, but I'm listed as her next guardian. Jenna can't take her in, because she isn't stable enough to take care of a child. You checked, called Jenna, and everything is in order," I said, using my compulsion to make them to exactly as I say. I watched as their pupils dilated in the usual way, and a dazed expression came over both their faces for a short while.

"Well, I can see here you're listed as the next guardian. Are you sure you're up for the challenge? A teenage girl with this kind of experience won't be easy," the man said, coming back from wherever people go, when they get compelled.

"You will have to sign papers, and you will get support, if you decide to take her in. It won't be easy, and you're young," the woman said, raising an eyebrow at me. Apparently my compulsion hadn't been as strong on her, as it had been on the male. I let out my charming smile and nodded.

"I am fully aware it won't be easy, but I am, nonetheless, capable of taking her in. And I do wish to take care of her" I said, sounding as sincere at possible. I was getting through to them, I could feel it.

"Okay, Mr. Salvatore. I think you've proven yourself worthy. If you would sign the papers, you can take her home, when the doctors thinks she's ready to go," the man said, his pupils dilating once again from my compulsion. Being a vampire had it's perks.

I signed the paper work, and when the two humans left the room, I was at Elena's side again. I'd felt the small disturbance in our heartbeat – she was waking up. Not wanting to freak her out, I fought the urge to take her hand in mine, and sat down next to the bed again, waiting for her to wake up.

As soon as her eyes opened, I found myself staring at her eyes. As usual, they were the only thing that hadn't changed over the years. They were just as big, and just as brown as they'd been when she'd been born. And right now, they were looking at me in wonder.

"Elena? Can you hear me?" I asked, careful not to sound too serious. She didn't need some serious looking stranger in front of her, when she was waking up in a freaking hospital bed. I couldn't even be sure she remembered what happened.

"Yeah, uhm... Where am I?" she said, slowly sitting up in the bed. She winced a bit at the movement, but seemed fine when she was sitting upright. Again, I had to fight my urge to help her.

"You're at Mystic Falls general... You, uh... You were in a car crash," I said, wondering how the fuck I would tell her, her entire family was dead. Well, except for her aunt of course. She was still well alive, but not able to take her in. Maybe she was, but she wouldn't be able to take as good care of her, as I was.

"Car crash? Wait, where's my family? I know you... What's your name? Where have I seen you before?" she asked, looking around the room and then at me. I sighed and leaned back in the chair. She obviously wasn't too panicked, and she didn't seem like she was remembering what happened. I would have to go easy on her.

"I'm Damon Salvatore... I'm, uhm... You're going to be staying with me... Your parents and Jeremy died in the car crash," I said, keeping my eyes on her face to read her reaction. She frowned and took a hand to her head, brushing over the bandage on her forehead.

"What, you... I don't even know you... Wait, no. My parents can't be dead! Jeremy can't be dead! You're lying!"

She didn't try to escape the bed, even though I'd counted on it, and she didn't seem to be retreating from me. But tears were filling her eyes and she did look like her whole world just went under. How the hell could I explain to her that this wasn't the end? I mean, sure, it's not easy losing a parent, but this wasn't the end.

"I'm sorry, Elena, but they are. I'm really, really sorry. Jenna isn't able to take you in, so, you'll be living with me. You probably don't remember me, but I'm an old friend of the family. You'll be okay," I said, wanting to reach out and touch her, but refrained from doing so. I wasn't going to push her. She was in a nasty situation already, and I didn't want to make it even worse, by confusing her. For now, I would just be her guardian. A bit ironic, considering the fact I'd been watching over her ever since she was born.

"What... Do you know what happened? I don't... We were on our way home..." She looked down at the floor, obviously trying to remember what had happened.

"Your car went over Wickery bridge..." I said, not wanting to go into details. She didn't need to know everything that had happened at the accident. She frowned and looked up at me again.

"No... Why did I survive, then? If they died? Why not me?" she asked, her voice suddenly small and fragile. She would have these questions in her head for a long time – and I'd be there to answer her. I didn't want her wishing it'd been her instead of them – I'd saved her, just as I was supposed to. I wouldn't have let her die.

"Listen, Elena, we'll talk about everything later. Right now, I'm going to call the nurse and we'll see how long it'll be until you can be released, okay? I'll make sure you have a good life... I promise."

Without waiting for an answer, I pulled the string hanging from the ceiling, calling on a nurse.

I don't think anyone had expected her to wake this fast, which was why I wasn't surprised at the nurse's baffled expression. Elena was sitting upright in her bed, looking at her small hands, probably trying to process it all. She'd lost her entire family, and her entire world had just been turned upside down. I would be surprised if there weren't a lot of thoughts going through that pretty head of hers.

"How are you feeling, Miss Gilbert?"

I could have strangled the nurse right there on the spot. How the hell did she think she was doing?! Stupid human!

"My head hurts... But... Surprisingly well," she said, lifting one thin arm to brush a strand of hair behind her ear. I tore my gaze away from her, forcing myself to look out the window. I shouldn't be looking that much at her. I didn't want to make her even more uncomfortable.

"I'll just check up on you, and then I'll go discuss with a doctor. We're going to keep you for a while, so you might want to think about bringing some personal belongings. How are you feeling emotionally?" the nurse asked, checking up on her body. I walked to the window, letting the two women have some sort of privacy. No way I was letting her be alone right now.

"All over the place, honestly... I... I don't know what I'm feeling," she said, her voice suddenly small again. I couldn't blame her. Who wouldn't be all over the place, after waking up in a hospital and discovering you're all alone?

Well, not entirely alone. She still had me, and I would be there for her, for as long as she needed it.

"Oh, honey. You'll be all right. Now, try getting some rest. Maybe your boyfriend can go home and fetch some things for you?" the nurse said. I turned on the spot, narrowing my eyes at her. Boyfriend? Me? Didn't I look way too old for her? She was only sixteen!  
"I'm not her boyfriend. I will gladly gather your stuff from your home, though. Maybe you would be kind enough to go get some paper and a pen, so Miss Gilbert can write me a list of items," I said, keeping my voice cold. How could she just assume something like that? I looked at least eight years older than her!

"Yes, sir," she said, blushing violently and keeping her head down, as she left the room. Elena just sat in her bed, twiddling her thumbs. I felt my gaze softening, as I looked at her. She was looking down right now, probably too confused and too shy to look at me. I didn't mind. I wanted her to take her time recovering.

"Listen, Elena, everything will be okay. I'll let you have some alone time while I go get your stuff, and then I'll come back and answer any question you might have," I said, standing by the end of her bed, while waiting for the nurse to return.

She looked up at me, her big brown eyes focused on my face. She still looked confused, but there was something trusting behind it all. She trusted me.

"Thank you, Mr. Salvatore," she said, her voice still small and now a bit hoarse as well. I smiled at her.

"Call me Damon."

* * *

**There's a big plot twist! I hope. I know some of you had seen it coming, but I hope the rest of it will be a shock. This story has only JUST begun, and there's a lot left on my list. I can't wait to get this properly started, because you all know me. I like a good build up. **

**Leave a review! That'd make my day completely. This time, I'll promise to try and not be so slow about updating. Life got in the way. **


	10. Chapter 9

**I know, I'm terrible for not updating. As I told you last time I updated, life has a habit of getting in the way, and not everything's all shiny and happy right now - I'm trying my hardest, folks, and I'll try and update as often as possible! **

**That being said, thank you SO much for all the love you guys give me with your reviews! You have no idea how much it means to me! Hope you'll continue doing that, 'cause it makes my day! **

* * *

**Chapter 9:**

_-Two weeks later_

I put Elena's duffel bag in the trunk of my blue camaro, as I tried not to notice her baffled expression.

"This is what you drive? But it's a classic!" she said, looking at it with big eyes. I raised an eyebrow at her, and opened her door for her.

"It is indeed. You know much about cars?" I asked, making sure she was safely seated, before I closed the door. Refraining from using my vampire speed, I walked to the other side, and got in behind the wheel.

I had spent almost every single day in the past two weeks in the hospital, watching over Elena, and making sure she made a full recovery. At first, she had been pretty shy around me, not really daring to talk to me, any other than answer my questions, but as I'd spent more time with her, she'd trusted me, and started telling me stuff about her life.

She'd gotten a lot more comfortable around me, and now, she actually seemed to be looking forward to living this new life. Of course, she wasn't over her parents deaths, and she still cried about it, but it would be all right. It would take a while, but she would learn to cope.

The day before, Caroline and Stefan had visited us at the hospital. I had told her that we weren't the only ones living at home, and she'd seemed to react somewhat okay to those news. She obviously wasn't used to living like that, but I'd told her it was an Italian thing – which wasn't a complete lie. It was an Italian tradition to live with your family, but Stefan and I hadn't kept it up for decades – actually, we hadn't lived together since before we turned. Not really.

Elena had been relieved to meet Caroline, and I think that the thought of another girl in the house calmed her down. If only she knew the girl was a woman in her 110's. Caroline still looked like she was 17 years old and sometimes she was acting the same way, but if you knew her well, it was clear she had a lot more experience than a 17 year old should have. Luckily for her, though, she could easily pass for a 21 year old, which meant she was known to be one of the youngest event planners ever.

I wasn't going to worry right now – I needed to get Elena home and make sure she was comfortable. She had been told to stay home until after the winter holidays, which gave her almost 2 months to get used to her new life. She'd be okay.

"Yeah, my... Uhm, my... Dad... Taught me a bit about cars..."

She looked down at her hands, fighting to keep the tears at bay at the memory of her father. I put my key in the ignition and placed my hand gently on her shoulder.

"Hey, it's okay. It's not easy losing your parents, okay? Are you ready to go home?" I asked, waiting patiently for her to gather herself. She nodded, and swiped a tear from under her eye. I smiled at her, and started the car, pulling out from the parking lot.

She was – as usual, not very talkative on the way home. She mostly just stared out of the window, while I kept to the speed limit through the town. I'd spend a lot of time with her alone during the past two weeks, and I felt like I was getting to know her. Just a little bit, at least. Hopefully she would start fully trusting me when she was settled in, and talking to Caroline might help as well. Girls usually needed to talk to each other, and that might be the solution for me to get closer to Elena.

"So, what do you wanna do for lunch? Should we head by The Grill to get something to eat?" I asked, reminding myself that she needed food. I couldn't let that one slip from my mind. I would be living with a human, and she would need to be fed. And I would have to keep up the facade of being human as well.

What the hell had I gotten myself into?

Why had I decided to take her in? Sure, she was my singer, and she was supposed to be the most important thing in my life, but no matter what, I was going to screw up. I didn't want to compel her, if I could help it. She didn't need some asshole to mess with her head, right after she'd lost her parents.

"I'm not really... Uhm, I'm not really hungry," she said, looking at me with those big brown eyes. I shot her a pointed look.

"Then we'll pick up something light. You need to eat," I said, pulling into the parking lot. I'd heard a lot about girls her age having anorexia, and I didn't want that for her. She was thin enough as it was. She didn't need to lose anymore weight, or she would cease to exist.

"I'm not really..."

"Elena, we're getting something to eat. Do you wanna bring it home, or do you wanna go inside?" I asked, as I parked the car and turned off the ignition. She slumped back in her seat, and kept her eyes on her hands.

"I'd like to eat at home," she said, fiddling with her fingers. I nodded and got out, walking to her side and opening her door. When I opened it, she looked up at me with a frightened look. I frowned, instantly noticing her fear.

"What's wrong?" I asked, bending down to her level. She bit her lip and let her hair fall down in front of her face. She was suddenly very shy, comparing to the time we'd spent back in the hospital.

"Would you, uh... Would you mind letting me stay out here? I'm not really ready to... Face everyone," she said, mumbling the last part. I felt my gaze soften a bit by her words, and placed my hand on hers, which was currently resting on her thigh. She looked up at me, her eyes big in wonder. I found myself thinking back to when she was merely a newborn baby, and noticed that her eyes had changed. Not in their shape or color. The expression behind them was changed. She knew how cruel life could be now. She knew nothing in this world was really fair, and she knew that things could change in a matter of a heartbeat.

Even though I knew that her family's deaths had been what brought her to me, I wished it had never happened. She didn't look right. Sadness was in her eyes, and honestly, she looked way too skinny for a girl her age.

If her parents hadn't died, she would be a normal teenager, enjoying spending time with her friends. She wouldn't be living with a stranger, and she wouldn't look as sad as she did.

"Just wait here, then. I'll be back, okay?" I said, as she nodded and sat back in her seat. I honestly didn't want to leave her alone out here, but I didn't want to push her. I locked the car, and hurried inside, going straight for the bar. The bartender instantly reached for the bourbon, but I held up a hand to stop him. I honestly did understand him. Every time I'd stepped into his bar, I'd wanted bourbon. He couldn't know I was actually out for food this time.

Not having any kind of patience left, I compelled him instantly to get some of everything for me and hurry up with the order. His eyes looked dazed for a moment, before he responded with an "absolutely, Sir," and went on with it.

I sat down on one of the bar stools, waiting impatiently for him to return, while focusing on my own heartbeat. It beat in the usual pace, meaning that Elena didn't feel too frightened. Honestly, I hadn't expected her to get into the car. I'd expected to walk her home and then go get the car later, but she'd gotten in, and she'd actually seemed comfortable with my driving. Maybe she wasn't as affected by the accident, as I'd thought.

* * *

It took ten minutes for the kitchen to finish the stuff I'd ordered, and when I got back to the car, Elena was looking at me with big eyes from the car. I merely smirked at her, and put the stuff in the backseat, making sure it wouldn't leak all over my leather seats.

"I wasn't sure what you'd like, so I just ordered a bit of everything," I said, shrugging, as I got into the front seat. Her mouth was slightly agape at the sight of the food. She'd been used to hospital food for almost two weeks – that was changing now. I knew how to cook, but I didn't really have time for it. Today, I'd rather order out, and have her talk to me while she was eating. I'd show her my cooking skills some other day.

"Why didn't you just ask? You didn't have to spend that amount of money on food," she said, looking at the backseat as I turned on the ignition and pulled out of the parking lot.

"Because I'd rather find out like this," I said, secretly hoping she'd eat more if the table was completely full. She wouldn't like wasting food.

She didn't say anything as she sat back in her seat, looking out the front window and watching the city blur past us. I tried to stick to the speed limit, watching her carefully to make sure she wasn't too uncomfortable being in a car again. She kept her eyes turned to the windows on the full trip home, so I didn't have to hide the fact that I didn't have to look at the road to keep us alive.

* * *

Her eyes went big as soon as we reached the boarding house. She seemed to be looking everywhere at once as I parked out front and turned off the ignition. I chuckled slightly and opened my door, hurrying to the other side to open hers as well. Her brown eyes focused on me instantly, but they didn't get any smaller. I smirked and extended my hand to her, trying to be as proper as possible. This wasn't Italy in the 18th century, but that didn't mean I'd lost my manners. I knew how to properly treat a lady.

She took my hand and let me help her out of the car, as her eyes went back to looking at the house. She didn't say anything, and as soon as I'd closed the door behind her, she wrapped her arms around herself and bit her bottom lip.

I immediately turned my gaze from her and pulled her duffel bag from the trunk, needing something else to do. She couldn't know just how inviting it was to see her bite her lip like that. That probably wasn't what she was focused on right now.

When I'd gotten her luggage, I grabbed the food from the backseat, and stood besides her. She looked so small when she hugged her body like that. Small and insecure, actually. We would have to change that. I wanted her to be sure of herself, and to know just how great of a person she was – it had taken less than a day for me to see just how amazing she was. Inside and out.

I shook my head slightly to get those thoughts out of my head. She was my Singer, and that was the sole reason for my thinking like that. I didn't do humans like that. I fucked the female ones, once in a while, but I never saw anything good in them.

Never.

"You ready to go inside?" I asked, keeping my sarcastic comment inside. It was kind of just something I did. Being sarcastic, that is. But right now, she probably didn't need an asshole to push her, so I would keep it in for her.

She nodded, and tried to take her duffel bag from my shoulder, but I just shot her a look and she retreated immediately. Did she really think I'd let her carry her stuff by her self? She had a lot of learning to do.

I pushed the door open with my elbow, unlocked as always. Anyone stupid enough to try something here would have three very angry vampires to deal with, so we never bothered to lock the door.

Elena's eyes wandered over the decorations inside as I made my way to the kitchen, knowing she would follow once she was ready. This was a lot of new things to take in, and I would give her the time she needed.

I quickly got the food ready and put it on the table in the dining room, making it look as nice as possible. Should I light a candle on the table as well?

_What the fuck, Salvatore?!_

Where the hell did these thoughts come from? Lighting a candle on the table? This wasn't a freaking movie, or some silly teenage book. She didn't need candles on the fucking table.

Once again I shook my head at myself, and went back to the parlor. She had walked to the window, looking out at the garden, her arms still wrapped around her tiny body. I put on a polite smile and made my way to her, knowing she hadn't heard me at all.

"I've made the table for you in the dining room. I'll give you the tour when you're done eating," I said. She jumped slightly, turning around quickly and suddenly standing a bit too close for my liking. I stepped back, smiling politely at her. Listening to our synchronized heartbeats, I noticed it wasn't sped up. She hadn't been too surprised, or her heart would be speeding right now. And it wasn't. It was beating like it always was.

"It's this way," I said, nodding towards to kitchen. I let her follow me to the dining room, and heard the small gasp of surprise from her, when she saw the food laid out on the table. I turned around, and saw her eyes go from the table to me and back again. I chuckled and pulled out the chair for her.

"It's fine, Elena. Eat what you feel like, and I'll come down later and check on you. I'll put your stuff in your room while you're eating," I said, giving her a reassuring smile, before I left the room to pick up her bags.

While she'd been in the hospital, I'd gone by her old home and picked up her clothes and personal belongings. It had been nice being back in her room, actually. I'd been there before, on special occasions, but this time, I had all the time in the world to look around her room. It was a typical teenage girl's room. She had a lot of pictures of her and her friends and family, and of course all of those girl's items, that I've never quite understood.

I'd vamp sped around the room, collecting her stuff, and taking care not to break anything. In the end, I had looked around, and noticed the teddy bear on the bed. She still had that one. I'd been so surprised to see that old thing still sitting on her bed, but it made me warm inside. She'd kept it. She'd gotten it from a complete stranger in the hospital back when she had been no more than a child, but she'd kept it, and judging by it's position on the bed, it was important to her.

I smiled as I picked it up and added it to her belongings.

When I'd told her I was going to gather up her stuff, she'd asked me (with her cheeks red as a tomato) if I could bring her journal and a pen back for her. I'd honestly been a bit surprised to hear she was still doing the whole journal thing. I'd been even more surprised to find a number of old journals in her closet, but had quickly decided on putting them in the suitcase, without reading anything. It'd be a lack of confidence, and if she wanted me to, I could read them later on. I was, honestly, pretty curious about that first journal. If she remembered me at all.

I shook the memory out of my head, as I walked the stairs with her bags. I should probably have let her choose a room for herself, but I wanted her close, and the biggest room that wasn't taken, just so happened to be just down the hall from my own. Maybe I'd come to regret that choice later on, but I liked having her close. It'd be faster for me to get to her, if anything happened.

The room was pretty neutral decorated. The sheets on the king sized bed was white, and it was a standard four poster bed, made out of wood. The floor boards were made of the same dark wood as the rest of the house, and she had one closet for clothes, one for other stuff and a desk. Another door connected the room with the bathroom, which would be hers as well. It didn't have the same kind of shower I had in my room, but it did have both a shower and a bathtub for her to use.

I'd made sure she had everything she'd had in her old bathroom and more, to make sure she was comfortable. I didn't want her to miss anything.

Now I was up here with her bags, and honestly, I had no idea whether I should be packing out or letting her do that. I wanted to be a good host, for some odd reason, but I didn't want to put my nose where it didn't belong. Maybe I should just let her unpack herself, and get settled. I didn't know how she wanted her stuff, and I wasn't going to start dictating that.

She would have to do it herself. Hopefully she'd ask me for help if that was what she needed. I spent some time looking around, before walking back downstairs, and into the dining room. She had gotten up from her seat, and was now walking around the room, looking at the artifacts and the books on the shelves surrounding the dining table. I tucked my hands into my pockets and cleared my throat, expecting her to turn around.

She did turn around, but it was a lot more slow than I'd expected, and her heart was only speeding up a little bit. She wasn't surprised.

I looked at the food on the table, noticing she'd only eaten a little bit. At least it was something. When I looked back at her, her cheeks were flushed.

"I wasn't, uh... I wasn't very hungry," she said, twiddling her thumbs in front of her body and looking down at her shoes. I didn't know how to react. I was mad she wasn't eating more than she was – she'd been eating hospital food for so long, and she needed her stamina. I wanted her to gain weight, and I wanted her to be a bit more healthy. But on the other hand, I knew humans had a weird way of coping with stuff as losing people – and she'd just lost her family. I should have compelled one of the nurses to tell me what it was like, 'cause all I remembered from my mother's death, was the pressure of suddenly being the oldest, and the one with all the expectations.

"It's okay, Elena. I'll take care of it. I put your bags in your room, so you can go unpack when you want to," I said, lifting one hand and scratching the back of my neck. What the hell was I supposed to do with a human in my house? What did humans do, when they weren't sleeping and eating? I knew she loved writing in her diary, and I could imagine writing had become a thing for her. Besides that, what the hell did humans do?!

"I'd like to go to my room," she said quietly, still looking down. I nodded, knowing there was no way of pressing her into something she didn't want to do.

"Follow me, then," I said, walking towards her room. She walked behind me on the entire way, her eyes trailing the floor as I led her to her bedroom.

She didn't come down again until hours later, when I asked if she wanted dinner. She had packed out a little bit, but I found her sitting on her bed, hastily wiping away tears and writing in her journal. I felt my heart clench uncomfortably, but I ignored it. I couldn't care about her like that, I just couldn't.

I was a vampire for Christ's sake. I was a blood drinker, a killer. Why should I care about a little teenage human girl?

* * *

**So, that's it for now! Hope you guys liked it. Sorry for it being so short - I've got a bad case of writer's block at the moment. Working on it, though! Leave a review, and I'll see you next time!**


	11. Chapter 10

**So, this chapter is a bit different from the other ones - why? You'll see! So, without saying anything else - enjoy your reading!**

* * *

**Chapter 10:**

It had only been two days since Elena had moved in with us, but we hadn't seen much of her. She ate lunch and dinner, but she always slept through breakfast. As far as I'd understood that was normal teenage behavior, so I let her sleep and overlooked the fact that she wasn't getting three meals a day. If she would begin to grow thinner, I'd do something. I couldn't force feed her, but I sure as hell could compel her to eat. I didn't want to use my vampire 'powers' on her, but it could become necessary. I wasn't going to let her starve, and I wasn't going to let her get anorexia, no matter how much she wanted that.

It was around 9pm on her third day in our house, and I was sitting downstairs, enjoying a cup of warm blood. She'd retreated to her room, like any other day, while I was sitting downstairs. Caroline was working on some stuff in one of the upstairs offices, and Stefan had recently gone out to kill some bunnies. I'd honestly never understand how he could live of that stuff. Animal blood tasted horrible, and it never satisfied me.

I had no idea how I was going to keep the human facade up, now that I had a human living here. Caroline and Stefan were doing pretty good – they had somehow become used to acting as humans, and keeping their blood lust and fangs hidden away from everyone else. I wasn't used to that at all, and Elena had to find out at some point. If she didn't, I had to tell her when the time came for her to make her own choice. I wanted her to make that decision about turning or not herself. I didn't want her to be forced into turning, like I was. If she wanted to turn, I'd happily feed her my blood and snap her neck, but if she didn't, she shouldn't turn.

How on earth was I going to explain all of this to her?

I downed the glass in my hand, and went to the kitchen to get a refill. Nothing but the empty bag from before was laying on the kitchen table.

God damnit, how many times had I told Caroline to keep the upstairs fridge stocked? Now I had to go all the way down to the basement to get more.

I rolled my eyes and started making my way to the stairs.

I frowned as Elena almost bumped into me in the hallway. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked all sorts of disheveled. What the hell had she been doing? She was always staying in her room, so what was she doing down here?

"Elena," I said, trying to greet her somewhat friendly, and not like I was completely confused about seeing her in this part of the house. I couldn't help but notice just how ironic it was the I was on my way down to get more blood, similar to her own.

"Damon," she said, looking down at her converse. I raised one eyebrow and tried to catch her gaze. Why was she acting so shy all of sudden?

"It's nice to see you outside your room. You're free to go exploring, you know," I said, smiling at her. She nodded, still keeping her eyes on her shoes. I decided to let her go, no matter how flushed she looked. She was probably just embarrassed about being caught snooping around. Nothing wrong with her exploring the house.

She sidestepped around me and continued down the hall, her head still bowed slightly. I continued in the other direction, making my way to the hidden door to the basement...

And found it open.

Why was it open? Stefan, Caroline and I had decided to have the basement door hidden a long time ago. We had our storage of blood, stakes and other vampire stuff down there, and we certainly didn't want anyone else going down there. It could expose our secret to everyone.

I heard the front door slam, and I immediately knew who had been down here and forgotten to shut the door behind them.

Elena.

She would've seen everything and of course she'd be frightened like crazy now. I didn't blame her, to be honest

I wasted no time in vamp speeding outside, standing right in front of her by the gate. She ran into my chest, my arms going around her to keep her from falling to the ground.

"NO! No, let me go! Let me fucking go! What the hell are you?!"

Her eyes were filled with fear, but the fire in them wasn't far behind. She wasn't going to come quiet, that was for sure. Clamping a hand down on her mouth, I scooped her into my arms, and walked towards the house.

It didn't take long before I felt her try to bite my hand. I rolled my eyes at her, ignoring the guilt rising in my stomach. I couldn't think about that now. I needed to do some damage repair on this situation.

"Biting my hand? Seriously, Elena, how old are you?" I said with a sarcastic voice. She wriggled around, trying to get out of my hold, and biting my hand at the same time. Getting tired of her pointless fight, I moved my hand from her mouth to her eyes, cutting off her vision. Then I vamp sped inside, and up the stairs, up to her room. She'd only just started screaming when I pinned her to the bed, my hand clamping down on her mouth again. Her eyes were staring at me, obviously trying to make me let go. Did she really think she could overpower me?

Humans.

"Forget what you saw tonight. You never went to the basement, and you never want to go looking for it again. If you come close, you'll remember you have something else to do, and walk away," I said, feeling the power of compulsion run through my body. She stopped screaming, but as soon as I removed my hand, she raised one eyebrow at me, and tried to get out of my hold.

"What the fuck are you?! Let me go! I'm going to tell the sheriff about _everything _in your basement!" she said, struggling to get away. I frowned at her. My compulsion hadn't worked.

Ignoring her screaming, I looked her body over. She wasn't wearing any kind of jewelery that could hold vervain, and she couldn't have ingested it. I'd been keeping an eye on what she'd been eating ever since she got into the hospital. She didn't have any perfume on her either. How the hell had she resisted my compulsion? She was a normal human for God's sake.

"Elena, would you stop screaming for a moment? It isn't going to help anything, so just shut up. It's annoying," I said, trying to find out what the hell could protect her against compulsion. What was different about her, compared to other humans?

I suddenly felt stupid for not seeing earlier. She was my Singer. It was a well known fact that Singers were so much different from other humans. Why shouldn't she be able to resist to compulsion? Of course she was.

Great. The fucking only human I couldn't compel, and she'd discovered our secret. What the hell was I supposed to do now? I couldn't kill her. I just couldn't bring myself to be the one to take her life. Not one as innocent as hers.

But what else was there to do?

There was no other way than to get her used to this. Lock her up until she realized she couldn't go about and tell this to everyone, and then maybe let her go to school, if she got used to the idea. If she started telling people, it'd be easy enough to compel them, or kill them. I wouldn't mind killing them off. And maybe that'd keep her from telling anyone else.

Yup, that would have to be the solution.

"Answer me, God damn it! What the hell are you?" Elena said, her voice harsh, and the fire in her eyes rising. I rolled my eyes at her. Either she was way too brave or just incredibly stupid. She'd just seen the blood in the basement, the stakes and all of the other stuff... And she chose to command me around?

"Listen, Elena, I'm gonna let go of you now. Don't try to run again, 'cause you won't outrun me. I'll just catch you again, and this time I might have to lock you up in the basement. I really don't want to do that, so just... Don't try to run, okay?" I said, carefully letting go of her small wrists. She hadn't kept her mouth shut during my little speech, but honestly I hadn't expected her to. She kept on trying to interrupt me, and get me to tell her what was going on, but that wasn't happening.

She didn't try to run, but she did pull away from me, to the other side of the bed. As if that was going to help.

"Now, it's late. So I want you to go to sleep. I'm going to lock your door and let you think about this until tomorrow. Then I'll answer your questions. This is your life now. Nobody's going to hurt you, and you'll be fine here. You'll be safe. I can promise you that," I said, standing up from the bed. She looked at me with the same defying look in her eyes, but I didn't want to bother. I picked up her cellphone from the table besides the bed, and found her laptop in a drawer. No way I was letting her communicate with the outside world.

"No fucking way you're taking my cellphone," she said, getting up from the bed. I held the items away from her, and giving her a look that told her not to get near me.

"That's not for you to decide," I said. She tried to lunge for it, but I easily pushed her back on the bed.

"Behave."

Then I left her room and locked the door behind me, ignoring her banging on it. She wasn't going to be able to break it down. She wasn't nearly strong enough to do that.

* * *

The night turned out to be a lot longer than I'd counted on. At first, she just sobbed from her room. I felt a bit bad, knowing I was the reason for her crying. There were even a couple of times where I wanted to go to her with a glass of alcohol, not caring the least if she was a minor. She needed her sleep, and alcohol could help her with that.

I'd almost decided to do it, when I heard her door open. She'd picked the lock. Seriously?

She didn't even make it down the hall, before I caught her in my arms, and threw her over my shoulder. She kicked, screamed and tried banging on my back with her small fists. Every single thing was of course totally pointless. She wasn't going to make me let go. Did she really think hitting my back was going to make me let go of her?

"Now, Elena, I really didn't want to do this, but you give me no choice," I said, walking calmly downstairs to the basement. She screamed as soon as we reached the room with the fridge holding our blood-bags. I rolled my eyes, resisting the urge to swat her behind to shut her up. She needed to calm down, and I wasn't going to achieve that, if I started spanking her. Actually, she might just start to get afraid I would rape her.

She didn't know me very well after all.

I opened the door to the cell and put her down on the bed. She instantly tried fighting me, but it was of no use, really. I easily locked her up in the handcuffs, hating how big and threatening they looked on her tiny wrists. I wanted nothing more than to take her to my own bed, and just hold her down until she fell asleep. Maybe then I'd get a quiet night.

I couldn't do that of course. She'd get the wrong idea and then she'd know I didn't wanted to lock her up properly.

I made sure the chain was long enough she could move around, but that she couldn't escape, and then I stood up. She instantly pulled on the restraints, trying to get away again.

"I told you, I don't want to do this. I would love to let you sleep in that big comfy bed upstairs, so your pretty little body wouldn't bruise, but you give me no choice. So, just go to sleep. I'll come down at breakfast time tomorrow morning, and we'll talk this out when you've calmed down. Once you've learned to behave, you can return to your own room, and maybe even gain permission to walk around the house," I said, closing the door behind me, and locking it. Honestly, it pained me to see her like this. I never wanted to lock her up like this. I'd taken her in because I wanted to get closer to her, and because I wanted her to feel safe with me. And now everything was ruined.

I _had _to go through all that work to compel the sheriff to let me take her in. I should've let Jenna take her in, or somebody else. Just anyone else than me.

How fucking brilliant I am.

I sat outside the cell for a couple of hours, enjoying a bag of blood, while listening to Elena. She was still screaming, even though her voice was getting hoarse. It wouldn't be long before she wouldn't be able to talk anymore.

"Let me out! Let me fucking out!" she screamed. God, couldn't she just shut up?!

"Elena! Stop fucking screaming. You're in a house with vampires, we can hear you! Shut up, and go to fucking sleep!" I said, emptying the last of the blood bag in front of her, keeping my human face on. Finally, she became quiet, as she looked at me.

"A vampire? Seriously? You're a fucking blood sucker? Right, and next you'll tell me you sparkle in the sun?!" she said, getting up from the bed. I resisted the urge to force her to go to sleep. I never wanted to hurt her, but right at that moment, I wouldn't mind cutting off her airways until she lost conciousness

"Yes, I'm a vampire, and no I don't fucking sparkle. I said vampire, not homosexual. I'm not into glittering up. Now, start accepting this is where you're going to live, 'cause this isn't going to change. The better you behave, the more privileges you can get," I said, trying to ignore how much I liked the fire in her. And where the fuck did she learn that kind of language?!

"I have no idea what kind of sick fantasy you're trying to play out, you fucking bastard, but I am not going to be a part of it!" she said, crossing her arms in front of her chest.

"If you know what's best for yourself, Gilbert, you'll shut the fuck up!" I hissed, walking away and hurrying back to my room.

I would have to deal with her tomorrow.

* * *

Elena's POV

I cringed, as I moved my wrist slightly. Pulling the chains off my hands had been painful, and close to not succeeding, but here I was, free and ready to fight the guy who's trapped me in the basement. Truth to be told, I didn't think I'd be able to overpower him, but I sure as hell could surprise him, and get the fuck out of here before he caught up on what was happening.

For the first time in my entire life, I had nothing to lose. My entire family was dead, and I was being forced to live with a guy I didn't even know – and then he has some sort of sick fantasy of himself being a vampire.

If only I could manage to escape and get to the sheriff. She'd be able to help me. She would lock him up behind bars, and maybe then I could go live with Jenna. Hell, I didn't even care who. Just not this guy.

I'd scraped my arm on the rusty cot in the dungeon while trying to get out of the chains, and my arm was starting to hurt. It wasn't deep or anything, but it was bleeding and it stung.

I didn't have the time to think about that, though. Damon was on his way down here, and I needed to be ready to escape. If I pushed him hard enough, it might give me a good enough headstart to let me escape. I wouldn't need to go too far. I just needed somewhere to be safe.

I got behind the door, ready to assault him as hard as possible. He wouldn't get hurt from it. He was a male, he'd just be a bit surprised and fall, right?

The door opened, and as soon as I saw his foot, I lunged forward, pushing him with all my strength.

He didn't move an inch.

I did, however, notice the scolding tea in his hand, which was now drenching his shirt and chest. And he didn't even flinch. I allowed myself to stop for a split second, afraid I'd actually hurt him. But he didn't seem to have noticed.

Then I made a run for it. His hands were around my wrists in no time, pushing me back into the cell and slamming the door behind him. What the hell was going on here?  
He walked closer, and his eyes seemed to focus on my upperarm for a second. Then the most freaky thing I've ever seen happened.

His eyes turned red instantly, his blue orbs standing out even more clear. Dark veins appeared underneath his eyes, and his mouth opened slightly, exposing a set of fangs.

I couldn't hold it in. I screamed.

"Get the fuck away from me!" I said, pulling my arms, trying to get out of his hold. His grip only tightened, and I knew I would have bruises later. I whimpered slightly and quieted down, knowing that was what he wanted me to.

With a single finger, he traced the blood that'd run from the wound and sucked it off his finger. He then closed his eyes, without letting go of my wrists and slowly his face returned to the gorgeous human face he'd been wearing the times I'd seen him.

Okay, maybe he wasn't kidding about the whole vampire thing.

"Good. Now that we've got that settled, why don't you take a seat?" he said, nodding towards the bed. I raised an eyebrow at him and looked to the door, trying to figure out exactly how long it would take me to reach it.

"Don't even think about it."

I looked at Damon. He was smirking at me and slowly letting go of my wrists. As soon as they were free, I crossed my arms over my chest and looked at him with a defying look in my eyes.

"Sit down, Elena. It's not a request," he said, looking serious. I raised one eyebrow, and silently asked him 'are you kidding me?'. He once again rolled his eyes at me.

"Please, sit down," he then said, sighing. I let out a huff and sat down on the bed, rubbing my wrists. They hurt after the rough treatment and were already beginning to bruise. Once again, I had nothing to lose. He obviously wasn't going to kill me – if he was, he would've killed me last night, and not now. And I had a lot of questions I wanted answers to.

"Okay, then. What do you want to know?" he said, bringing a chair closer. He sat down on it, a respectable distance from me, but not enough for me to think I'd be able to escape.

"So, you're a... A... Uh..." I couldn't bring myself to say the word. I really couldn't. He wasn't supposed to exists. He was a mythical creature, not something you'd see in real life. He wasn't supposed to be sitting right in front of me, as a living proof that there was a lot more to the world than you'd think.

"Vampire?" he asked, finishing my sentence, "you can say it, Elena. It's not a bad word."

I scoffed at him, leaning against the wall behind me, trying to process this. Vampires did actually exists. There were actually bloodsucking creatures.

"So you are?" I said, wanting it to be confirmed completely.

"Yes."

He didn't say much, obviously. Oh well, I'd get him talking. Apparently I had a lot of time to spend in that house, so I might as well use the time properly.

"Are you going to kill me?" I asked, fearing for the answer. I hadn't wanted to ask it, 'cause that'd probably be getting my own death certificate. At least there weren't anyone that'd miss me.

"No," he answered, no emotions on his face whatsoever. How was it even possible to sit so still? And to show so little emotion? Was that another vampire thing?

"Why not?" I asked, finding myself getting curious. Why wouldn't he want to kill me? I mean, isn't that what vampires do? Drain people of blood, IE killing them? Weren't they monsters?

"Are you that eager to die?" he asked after a short hesitation. My eyes widened a bit.

"No. But isn't that what... Oh my God, I can't believe I'm actually saying this... Isn't that what vampires do? Kill people? I mean, I kind of assume you're a lot more Dracula than Edward Cullen," I said, trying to get comfortable on the old mattress. This time I was able to get an emotion out of him. He laughed. He actually laughed! Maybe we were actually going somewhere.

"You'd be correct," he said, "some vampires prefer the bunny diet. I'm not one of them. But I'm not going to hurt you."

I raised an eyebrow at him. Sure, he didn't want to hurt me. He already had. My wrists hurt like hell, and I couldn't stop thinking of his changed face, when he'd sucked my blood off his finger.

"Then, why am I here? Why did you bring me here, what do you want from me?" I asked. This made no sense at all. He couldn't just have picked me out at random, deciding I would be the one who's life he was ruining today... Could he?

"I don't want anything from you, Elena. I want to help you. I meant what I said," he said, the laugh suddenly gone from his face. Great, we were back at no emotions. At least no emotions showing. But they'd been there earlier, and I now knew it wasn't a total lost cause.

"Why? Why me? You don't even know me," I said, raising an eyebrow. I know I was probably asking way too many questions, thinking of what was the smartest way to handle this situation, but I couldn't help it. I didn't know if I'd get the chance to ask him like this again. I'd rather use it, than to keep wondering.

"Oh, I know you, Elena. Believe me. I've known you for a while," he said, his eyes serious as he looked at me. Okay, somewhat a feeling. We were making some sort of progress here. Maybe I would just have to earn his trust and then run?

But that would hurt him, and a small part of me really didn't want to hurt him. The mere thought of him hurt made me sick.

Wait, what? Why the fuck did I feel like that? He'd kidnapped me! The hospital had told me he was an old friend of the family, and that he'd been at some of our family parties. He did seem familiar, but I didn't know him. How come I would be staying with him, and not Jenna?

And what the hell did he mean by he knew me? I'd never talked to him before, I was almost sure of that!

"Why did you bring me here?" I asked. I didn't mind the major house and all, but I'd rather be home with my actual family. Well, what was left of it, at least.

"Because you almost died. And I can't let that happen... You're safer here than anywhere else," he said. A quick flash of pain moved across his face, before he returned to the hard cold facade again. I felt my heart clench painfully at the look of pain. I didn't want him to be in pain.

Urgh, what was up with my emotions? Why would I care about him? He'd hurt me. If it wasn't for him, my wrists wouldn't be hurting right now, and I wouldn't be feeling like shit.

I scoffed at him.

"Safe? Living with a vampire that drinks human blood? Oh yeah, I feel so safe," I said sarcastically, "oh yeah, and you're holding me against my will. I can see just how safe I am."

"Last night was a precaution. I can't trust you with this secret," he said harshly. I rolled my eyes at him. This was getting ridiculous.

"Then why the fuck do you bother? Why do _you _care if I live or die? You're a monster from the horror stories my mom told me when I was a child. You should be plotting my murder right now! Why do you want me here?" I asked, leaning forward just a little bit. This was making no sense at all.

"I'll tell you in time." Was he serious?!

"In time?!"

"When I can trust you."

"When you can trust _me_?!"

"Is there an echo in here?"

I feel like I was about to explode. I was trying to get information out of him, and he was making fucking jokes. Couldn't he be serious, for just a second?!

"I'm being serious here! You hold me hostage, tell me you're a vampire, lock me up, and now you want _me _to earn _your _trust?! You have some fucked up logic, Mr.!" I said, standing up from the bed. He stood up as well, his hands ready to grab me. I felt the anger come off me in waves.

"I told you, Elena, call me Damon. Mr. Salvatore was my father, and I despised the man, so don't compare me to him. I'll see you upstairs for breakfast in 15 minutes. Go to your room and put on some new clothes. Take a shower if that's what you need. I'll make you a new cup of tea."

Holy shit.

* * *

**Elena's pov! What do you think of changing the pov? I plan on it happening once in a while, but not every chapter. PLEASE leave a review, and tell me what you think. It'd mean everything to me.**


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